Springfield subcommittee hears analysis of hospital tax exemptions as senator readies pilot PILOT bill

Judith Garber, a policy analyst at the Lown Institute, told Springfield City’s pilot subcommittee on Jan. 28 that her organization can compare hospitals’ tax benefits to the community investments they report on federal 990 filings to identify “fair share” gaps.

The Lown Institute analysis, Garber said, would compare categories available on hospital 990s — financial assistance, community health improvement, contributions to local nonprofits, community-building activities and subsidized services — with hospitals’ tax advantages to estimate which institutions could be doing more for the community.

The discussion matters because the committee is considering new revenue options for Springfield and how to match community needs with nonprofit community benefits. “Our goal here as a subcommittee is to identify new potential revenue stream for the city of Springfield,” Councilor Karen Lee said during the meeting.

Garber described the Lown Institute’s approach as focused on “certain types of community benefit that we think are most impactful for actual community health,” and said the group can produce a detailed breakdown for the area’s hospitals using 2020–2022 federal data, with 2023 state community-benefit reports becoming available. She estimated the local analysis would take “maybe 15 to 20…