REGISTER: America’s Most Socially Responsible Hospitals, 2025
Register now for the webinar "America's Most Socially Responsible Hospitals" on June 25, 2025. More
Blog
“Only a movement will get us to a better future.”: Dr. Reshma Ramachandran accepts the 2025 Bernard Lown Award
Dr. Lilia Cervantes received the 2025 Bernard Lown Award for Social Responsibility for her exceptional work promoting equitable access to medicines, mobilizing physicians nationwide to challenge pharmaceutical industry influence, and advancing legislative reforms that prioritize the public’s health over corporate profit. More
PRESS RELEASE: Inconsistent Hospital Policies Put Patients at Greater Risk of Medical Debt
Analysis of 2,500 charity care policies finds patients with identical income and medical needs could receive free care at one hospital, yet face collections or lawsuits at another. More
PRESS RELEASE: Yale physician Reshma Ramachandran wins 2025 Bernard Lown Award for Social Responsibility
Reshma Ramachandran, MD, MPP, MHS, to receive the 2025 Bernard Lown Award for Social Responsibility and $25,000 prize. More
Tackling medical debt in America: Insights from experts and advocates
“We’re all here because this issue is a moral stain on the fabric of the country… We’re also here because if we want to fix this, we can," Dr. Vikas Saini told the crowd at the 2025 Lown conference on Medical Debt in America. More
California, New York have highest hospital property tax exemptions
Hospitals in 18 states own a total of $170 billion in assessed real property value and benefit from a total of $4.3 billion in real estate tax exemptions. However, this benefit is not spread out equally among states. More
Hospitals benefit from billions in property tax exemptions
These 20 hospitals avoided nearly $1 billion in property taxes. More
How hospitals can invest in their communities: Four real-world examples
What types of initiatives are hospitals investing in to improve access to care and community health? We dug into the tax forms for some of the largest fair share surplus hospitals to find out. More
Meet Emma, Lown’s public health intern
Meet Emma, Lown's public health intern. Emma is a MPH student at the Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine. More
Meet Maya, Lown’s public health intern
Meet Maya Drabczyk, Lown's public health intern and a Masters of Public Health student at the Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine. At Dartmouth she is a member of the Graduate Consulting Group and a Global Health Fellow. More
The paradox of medical debt relief
Medical debt is associated with poor financial and health outcomes. So why don't we see more positive effects when medical debt is relieved? More
3 Ways to Protect Yourself from Medical Debt
Unlike other forms of debt, medical debt is extremely hard to avoid; nobody chooses to get sick, have an accident, or need emergency care. If you’re worried about medical debt, here are three ways you can help reduce your risk of debt. More
Minnesota Attorney General says, “Hold on, Mayo!”
A recent investigation of the Mayo Clinic by the state AG found that the hospital put up barriers to financial assistance. More
3 Reasons To Attend the Lown Medical Debt Conference
On May 15, 2025, the Lown Institute will be hosting a one-day, in person conference in Washington, D.C. to discuss the scope, key drivers, and emerging solutions to medical debt in the U.S. Here's why you won't want to miss this event. More
Communities most in need get fewest community benefit dollars from hospitals, study says
A new study in JAMA Health Forum finds that certain communities receive much less community benefit spending from hospitals than others. More
Healthcare corporations spent trillions of dollars on payouts to shareholders, study finds.
It’s well known that America spends more and gets less for its health care dollar than peer countries, and has for a while. Where does all the money go? A recent research letter in JAMA Internal Medicine shows how much of healthcare industry profits are directed to corporate shareholders. More
5 Things Every Patient Should Know About Hospital Financial Assistance
While many hospitals offer financial aid, millions of eligible patients never apply - often because they don't realize help is available. Here are five things every patient should know about hospital financial assistance programs. More
Republicans are proposing radical healthcare cuts. How could hospitals be affected?
A wish list of program cuts being circulated by House Republicans includes proposals that target the healthcare system. Here are some of the proposed cuts and the potential repercussions for hospitals. More
Private equity hospitals in the news
Early 2025 updates on private equity and hospitals, including new state legislation and another system bankruptcy. More
“The benefits are huge”: Deprescribing in home health care
Medication overload—adverse events caused by too many medications—harms millions of older adults in the U.S. every year. Read more about how one innovate program in Rochester, NY, is showing how deprescribing can help eliminate medication overload in the home health setting. More