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First Stop On Hospital Transparency Tour

WGCU | By Lottie Watts
Published June 18, 2015 at 10:58 AM EDT

Governor Rick Scott's Commission on Healthcare and Hospital Funding kicked off its "transparency tour" Wednesday morning in Tampa.

Top health executives from the Tampa Bay area told the commission how taxpayer money is being used at their "nonprofit" hospitals.At its first stop in Tampa, the commission heard from Dr. Jim Burkhart. He's the CEO of Tampa General Hospital, one of Florida's largest "safety-net" hospitals.

"So why do we need profit? Why do hospitals need profit", asked Burkhart. "Well, if you're in the for-profit business, you need it for two reasons. One is to reinvest, the other is to pay shareholders. You have two reasons that you do that. We have one reason, which is to have a positive margin to help finance the needs to keep pace with the quality of the care we're trying to provide."

The commission is still waiting for data from Florida's nonprofit hospitals on one of the governor's biggest questions: CEO compensation.

The Florida Agency For Health Care Administration says that information will be ready for the Commission's next stop, on July 1st in Jacksonville.
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Government & Politics Health CareRick ScottHospitalsGovernmentLocal
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