Nonprofit hospitals receive substantial tax breaks worth tens of billions each year. But how many hospitals actually give back to communities as much as they receive in tax benefits? As more than 100 million Americans face medical debt, it’s increasingly important that hospitals give back their fair share in assistance.
Watch the Lown Institute’s discussion of the latest fair share data with state policymakers below! And view the full results on the Lown Hospitals Index website.
Fair Share Spending, 2023 from Lown Institute on Vimeo.
Meet the panelists
Vikas Saini, MD
President, Lown Institute
Vikas Saini, MD, president of the Lown Institute, is a clinical cardiologist trained by Dr. Bernard Lown at Harvard. He also serves as co-chair of the Right Care Alliance, a grassroots network of clinicians, patient activists, and community leaders organizing to put patients, not profits, at the heart of health care.
Dr. Saini is an expert on the optimal medical management of cardiologic conditions, medical overuse, hospital performance and evaluation, and health equity. He has spoken and presented research at professional meetings around the world, and has been quoted in numerous print media, radio, and television.
Naman Shah, MD, PhD
Director, Division of Medical and Dental Affairs, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
Naman Shah is a family physician and epidemiologist at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. He leads the Division of Medical and Dental Affairs which supports innovative and just healthcare within the department and in LA County. Naman completed residency training at Contra Costa County Regional Medical Center and received his MD and PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Lisa Frank
Chief Operating and Administrative Officer, The City of Pittsburgh
As Chief Operating and Administrative Officer for the City of Pittsburgh under Mayor Ed Gainey, Lisa Frank is responsible for helping residents imagine, build and maintain a city where everyone can be safe and thrive. Prior to joining the Gainey Administration, Lisa served as Executive Vice President for Strategic Campaigns at SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania’s largest union of healthcare workers. In recognition of her work in public health, Lisa was appointed by Governor Wolf to the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council and the Health Policy Board of the Department of Health. She currently serves on the boards of the Pennsylvania Health Access Network and Pennsylvania United, and is a member of the Action Council of Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania.
Steven Ranzoni, MPH
Hospital Policy Advisor, Oregon Health Authority
Steven Ranzoni is a hospital policy adviser and program manager of the hospital reporting program at the Oregon Health Authority. The hospital reporting program collects and reports on hospital financial, community benefit, and discharge data. Most recently, Steven has led the hospital reporting program in implementing Oregon’s new community benefit minimum spending floor program.
Nancy Dolson
Special Financing Division Director, Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing
Nancy Dolson is the Director of the Special Financing Division at the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing and a member of the Department’s Executive Leadership Team. In her role, Ms. Dolson directs and oversees hospital incentive programs, hospital financial and community benefit reporting and analysis, The Primary Care Fund, Hospitals’ Discounted Care, the Colorado Dental Health Care Program for Low-Income Seniors, and additional Medicaid funding for local governments.
Ms. Dolson is a Colorado native and mother of two college students, holds a Bachelor of Arts from Colorado State University, and has served at the Department for 19 years.