The billions of dollars in tax breaks granted to the nation's nonprofit hospitals are being challenged by regulators and politicians as cities still reeling from the recession watch cash-rich medical centers expand. Hospitals, among the largest landowners in many communities, are often designated as nonprofits, allowing them to benefit from state and federal tax breaks for providing "charity care and community benefit." The exemptions collectively amount to more than $12 billion annually, health economists say. Now, provisions of the Affordable Care Act, along with Internal Revenue Service reporting requirements imposed in recent years, are revealing how much medical centers give back to the communities they serve.
