FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Paige Gehlhausen, Press Secretary
Paige.Gehlhausen@iga.in.gov
317-232-9425
Holdman: Could Indiana's nonprofit hospitals do more to lower health care costs?
STATEHOUSE (Jan. 3, 2025) — For the fourth consecutive year, State Sen. Travis Holdman (R-Markle) is calling attention to the billions of dollars in unrestricted assets held by Indiana's largest not-for-profit hospital systems – and questioning whether these hospitals are doing enough to make health care more affordable for Hoosiers.
According to 2023 audited financial statements filed with the Indiana Department of Health, the six largest not-for-profit hospital systems operating in Indiana have net assets ranging from $1.8 billion for Deaconess Health to $24.8 billion for Ascension (Ascension's numbers cover its operations in 19 states, not just Indiana).
The six hospital-system financial reports highlighted by Holdman cover Ascension (St. Vincent), Community Health Network, Deaconess, Franciscan Alliance, IU Health and Parkview Health Systems.
"These giant hospital systems don’t pay taxes because they theoretically exist for charitable purposes, but the most charitable thing they could do with their massive reserves is lower the prices they charge Hoosier patients," Holdman said. "Instead, we see Parkview in Northeast Indiana paying to have its name on a baseball stadium while failing to provide 24-7 ultrasound services to a rural community. And we see Community Health paying the federal government $345 million – the largest payment of its kind in history – to settle allegations they defrauded Medicare for years. I'm afraid these systems have forgotten what charity means."
Holdman noted that three of the six hospital systems – Franciscan, IU Health and Deaconess – have enough unrestricted assets to operate for more than a year without any new revenue.
Based on information in the 2023 audited reports:
These figures incorporate total assets and total liabilities, without restricted assets, resulting in a broader measure of unrestricted assets than just cash on hand as measured by the credit rating agency S&P Global Ratings.
"As a fiscal leader at the Statehouse, I understand there is a real need to have some cash reserves in order to weather unforeseen circumstances," Holdman added. "However, while the state government typically hovers around 40 operational days, we see most of these nonprofit systems with enough assets cover 250 days and beyond, with 250 days being the high end of the range for S&P's 'very strong' rating. In my opinion, that goes beyond prudent asset management and looks more like hoarding. I expect better from these nonprofit hospitals."
Holdman encourages residents of Senate District 19 to contact him with any questions or comments they may have as the 2025 session gets underway. Holdman can be reached by filling out a "Contact Me" form online at www.IndianaSenateRepublicans.com/Holdman or by phone at 800-382-9467.
The Indiana General Assembly gathered at the Statehouse Nov. 19 for Organization Day, the ceremonial start of the 2025 session. The Senate is expected to reconvene for session at the Statehouse on Jan. 8.
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NOTE TO THE PRESS: Documents summarizing the numbers from the hospitals' audited financial reports are available online here. Please note different hospital systems utilize different fiscal year calendars, so Holdman's summaries cover the period self-identified by each system as its 2023 fiscal year.
State Sen. Travis Holdman (R-Markle) represents Senate District 19,
which includes Adams, Blackford, Jay and Wells counties and a portion of Allen County.
Click here to download a high-resolution photo.
