A recent $416 million gift Indiana University Health made to the IU School of Medicine has left some critics wondering whether the nonprofit health system tried to sidestep uncomfortable questions about how much it is charging Hoosiers for health care.
IU Health would not say how the gift compared with prior contributions. An IU spokesperson said the university and its school of medicine get money from IU Health in a lot of different ways, and it was therefore difficult to make a year-over-year comparison.
Neither the health system nor the university announced the $416 million gift. Hoosiers found out about the donation this month through media reports. The gift was first reported by the Indianapolis Business Journal.
The donation has raised questions among lawmakers and set off alarm bells among health care advocates.
"At the end of the day, that $416 million came from consumers' pockets," said Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston (R-Fishers). "What we're asking for is that everybody within the system, whether it be the hospitals or the insurers, to do everything they can to reduce costs."
© 2024 HeraldTimesOnline, Bloomington, IN