There will be a second read and final approval of plans to build a new medical clinic and training facility, and remove the building currently housing Kids' Station, later this month.
MWHC has a problem with intellectual honesty. I wish our elected officials would question what’s being presented. It’s 2024, we can (and should) fact-check. There were many examples of distorted facts at last Tuesday's City Council meeting but I'll give one.
In response to the community's questions about community benefit obligations, the MWHC rep told the room that this is calculated according to IRS guidelines and then proceeded to give a number 3 times higher than what IRS Form 990 Schedule H allows.
The representative proudly stated that it is $64.9m. It’s not. That’s the number MWHC likes to claim. But that’s not the number the IRS allows them to claim. Shave $51m or ~80% off their stated number and you get $13.9m which is the allowable amount.
MWHC’s 2022 annual report boldly states the incorrect number and then defends its version of the truth with a disclaimer that while the IRS doesn’t recognize their inflated number that includes unreimbursed care to medicare patients they believe it’s the right number.
Other issues included how MWHC presented the number from the economic impact study. When I think back to my economics training it was always drilled into our heads that we should never present a raw number without explanation. How it was presented leads us to believe the economic impact is larger than it is. The methodology wasn’t shared with us but if it’s your typical economic contribution study then they’re measuring expected dollars, income, jobs, taxes, and a few other economic activities. The big asterisk with this methodology is that it usually double or triple counts the dollars. All or part of the dollars from the study are likely attributable to other non-MWHC activities in the region and would exist without the proposed plan.
And we were told to always include a warning that the study does not take into account negative (or positive) environmental, social, cultural, or community impact of the proposed intervention.
MWHC has a problem with intellectual honesty. I wish our elected officials would question what’s being presented. It’s 2024, we can (and should) fact-check. There were many examples of distorted facts at last Tuesday's City Council meeting but I'll give one.
In response to the community's questions about community benefit obligations, the MWHC rep told the room that this is calculated according to IRS guidelines and then proceeded to give a number 3 times higher than what IRS Form 990 Schedule H allows.
The representative proudly stated that it is $64.9m. It’s not. That’s the number MWHC likes to claim. But that’s not the number the IRS allows them to claim. Shave $51m or ~80% off their stated number and you get $13.9m which is the allowable amount.
MWHC’s 2022 annual report boldly states the incorrect number and then defends its version of the truth with a disclaimer that while the IRS doesn’t recognize their inflated number that includes unreimbursed care to medicare patients they believe it’s the right number.
https://www.marywashingtonhealthcare.com/documents/2022-AnnualReport-MWHC.pdf
Other issues included how MWHC presented the number from the economic impact study. When I think back to my economics training it was always drilled into our heads that we should never present a raw number without explanation. How it was presented leads us to believe the economic impact is larger than it is. The methodology wasn’t shared with us but if it’s your typical economic contribution study then they’re measuring expected dollars, income, jobs, taxes, and a few other economic activities. The big asterisk with this methodology is that it usually double or triple counts the dollars. All or part of the dollars from the study are likely attributable to other non-MWHC activities in the region and would exist without the proposed plan.
And we were told to always include a warning that the study does not take into account negative (or positive) environmental, social, cultural, or community impact of the proposed intervention.
I so agree. They are being so disingenuous and the board is buying it
MWHC is trying to be like Carillon and Innova. The CEO cares nothing about our conmunity or the people who work for him.