To honor the memory of Dr. Lown and because our society needs more leaders like him, we have created the Bernard Lown Award for Social Responsibility (BLASR).

These are the #1 hospitals in each state, according to the 2025 Lown Hospitals Index for Social Responsibility.

US News & World Report just released their list of “best hospitals” for 2025-26, which is based primarily on patient outcomes for complex specialty care and common procedures. The Lown Hospitals Index...

Findings from a statewide analysis of Missouri hospital policies

See which critical access hospitals made our list of most socially responsible hospitals…and which ones are at risk of shutting down services or closure.

Hospitals have a lot of leeway to decide who is eligible for financial assistance. In some cases, hospitals don't allow any elective care to be eligible. What impact could that have on health or medic...

Can we reduce healthcare waste while making Americans healthier? A new Medicare pilot program that uses AI is trying to do just that. Here’s what’s promising about the program, and which elements coul...

A federal judge recently struck down a rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) seeking to remove medical debt from credit reports. How will this affect medical debt in the future?

Hospital leaders explained how their institutional culture, policies, and workforce help them deliver high-quality and high-value care while still prioritizing equity.

Out of 2,700 acute care hospitals nationwide, 125 are recognized as “Honor Roll” hospitals for achieving the highest scores on measures of equity, value, and outcomes.

As hospitals navigate workforce shortages, rising costs, and looming Medicaid cuts, delivering equitable, high-value care has never been harder. Join us as we reveal the top hospitals on the 2025 Lown...

Hospitals set their own rules for who they offer discounted care, and the actions they can take to collect medical debt. How does your hospital compare?

This white paper provides an overview of research on prevalence, impact, and drivers of medical debt, as well as an evaluation of potential policies including everything from low-hanging fruit to syst...

Meet Dr. Reshma Ramachandran, the winner of the 2025 Bernard Lown Award for Social Responsibility!

“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...

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 equal...

These 20 hospitals avoided nearly $1 billion in property taxes.

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.

How much do hospitals give back to their communities compared to the value of their tax breaks? See how well hospitals did in your state.

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...

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 ...

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...

Medical debt is associated with poor financial and health outcomes. So why don't we see more positive effects when medical debt is relieved?

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...

A new study in JAMA Health Forum finds that certain communities receive much less community benefit spending from hospitals than others.

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 Medic...

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 ...

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...

Early 2025 updates on private equity and hospitals, including new state legislation and another system bankruptcy.

The Lown Institute, a health care think tank, holds a contest every year for the most outrageous stories of greed in health care.

Amid increased scrutiny on hospital billing and collections practices, one might expect hospitals to make their financial assistance policies more generous. However, these changes are not always for t...

To honor the memory of Dr. Lown and because our society needs more leaders like him, we have created the Bernard Lown Award for Social Responsibility (BLASR).

We recently revealed the winners of the 8th Annual Shkreli Awards, our top ten list of the most egregious examples of healthcare profiteering and

'We are dumbfounded by the amount of profiteering,' Lown Institute president says