Communities invest in their local nonprofit hospitals through big tax breaks. Are hospitals giving back their fair share in return? To find out, the Lown Institute analyzed hospital community investments compared to the value of their tax breaks—what we call “Fair Share Spending.” Join us for a discussion on Tuesday, March 26 at 1 pm ET/10 am PT with health policy experts to explore the findings, including a deep dive into the results for California hospitals. We’ll discuss:
- Which hospitals have the largest fair share deficits and surpluses?
- What insights can we learn from California?
- How do federal and state policies impact hospital community investments?
- How can we hold hospitals accountable for giving their fair share, while supporting the hospitals leading the way?
Featuring guest panelists:
- Joan Allen, Government Relations Advocate at SEIU-UHW
- Michelle Burton, CEO of Rising Communities
- Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access California
- Vikas Saini, president of the Lown Institute
Meet the panelists
Joan Allen, MPP
Joan Allen (She/Her) is a Government Relations Advocate for SEIU United Healthcare Workers (SEIU-UHW), where she has worked in various roles to improve California’s health care system for the benefit of patients, consumers, and health care workers. She currently covers issues related to health care, health insurance, COVID-19 response, and elections. SEIU-UHW represents approximately 100,000 California health care workers and advocates for Healthcare Justice on behalf of both workers and patients. She earned a Master of Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Rice University.
Michelle Burton, MBA, MALC, PhD
Dr. Burton currently serves as the Deputy CEO for Rising Communities, formerly Community Health Councils, Inc. Dr. Burton works to build bridges across sectors, convening CEO’s, founders, influencers, and leaders to design bold solutions for problems today and in the future. In her current role at Rising Communities she is working in partnership with her team members to interrupt the commodification of the nonprofit sector through Rising Communities’ impactful and transformational social enterprises and initiatives. Dr. Burton holds a BA in Pan African Studies from CSULA, an MBA with a concentration in Organizational Development and Change from Chapman University, and an MA and PhD in Leadership and Change from Antioch University.
Anthony Wright
Anthony Wright has served as Executive Director for Health Access, California’s healthcare consumer advocacy coalition, since 2002, leading campaigns to win key patient protections, coverage expansions, health reforms, and public health investments. He also worked for NJ Citizen Action, Center for Media Education, The Nation, and VP Gore’s office in the White House. Bred in the Bronx, Wright lives in Davis, and graduated from Amherst magna cum laude.
Vikas Saini, MD
Vikas Saini, MD, president of the Lown Institute, is a clinical cardiologist trained by Dr. Bernard Lown at Harvard. He also serves as co-chair of the Right Care Alliance, a grassroots network of clinicians, patient activists, and community leaders organizing to put patients, not profits, at the heart of health care. Dr. Saini is an expert on the optimal medical management of cardiologic conditions, medical overuse, hospital performance and evaluation, and health equity. He has spoken and presented research at professional meetings around the world, and has been quoted in numerous print media, radio, and television.