Pascrell Statement at Oversight Subcommittee Hearing on Tax-Exempt Hospitals

Mr. Chairman, I am eager to kick off our first Oversight Subcommittee hearing of the 118th Congress.

Our committee holds a sacred duty to ensure hospitals respond with the highest quality of care. We know one size does not fit all to provide the care our communities need.

Tax-exempt hospitals deliver unmatched benefits and are the very cornerstone of our hospital system. The nonprofit network cares for our most vulnerable. These hospitals collectively deliver more in benefits and charity care than other hospitals.

There are nearly 3,000 not-for-profit hospitals across America. In my state New Jersey, 62 of these institutions keep our communities healthy.

I am committed to robust oversight of our tax-exempt hospitals. Many non-profit hospital systems can and must do better.

But we cannot lose sight of the harm Wall Street has done to our entire health system.

This subcommittee must continue taking a closer look at the opaque ownership of hospitals. Private equity control is often shielded like a Russian nesting doll, designed to block oversight by the government – and from patients.

By tightening their grip over health care, corporate tycoons place profits over patients, big bucks over the Hippocratic Oath.

Our committee has the receipts. As Chairman, I led a hearing last Congress on the impacts of private equity on health care. What we exposed still needs fixing.

Wall Street loads debt onto companies, sometimes leading to bankruptcy, facility closures, fired workers, neglected patients, and hurt communities.

In 2022, private equity investment in health care grew to $90 Billion. PE stretches like an octopus, with tentacles in large and small hospitals, physician practices, dental practices, and nursing homes.

These trends demand further investigation. Our committee cannot ignore how threats to hospitals harm our communities and access to care.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.