Nonprofit hospitals dodge excise-tax bullet in Baucus bill

Nonprofit hospitals can breathe a sigh of relief that a healthcare overhaul proposed by Sen. Max Baucus doesn't include an excise-tax measure that had been contemplated just a few months ago for hospitals not offering enough charity care. For months, nonprofit hospitals have feared minimum charity-care requirements after a set of options released in May by the Baucus-led Senate Finance Committee suggested Congress would take the tax route.