The administration & C suite.

Non for profit is a nice smokescreen. Nonprofit status is a nice little windfall fir the permanent bureaucrat class at payors and hospitals.

Starting from cancer children's hospitals that do all kinds of tricks to energize fundraisers and draw donations.. which amount to a paltry 30% of their CEO's salary....

To payors colluding with hospitals to raise "gross" prices in order to get more government payments for medicare disproportionate share funding (DCH) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disproportionate_share_hospita...

THe profits go to the permanent administration.

Is it any surprise that admins then balk at putting prices online, with an argument that can be summed up as "OMG, you make us put online the price from 2000 contracts!! Its too hard! "

Here is a little nugget. Nonprofit designation for hospital is a recent development. It didn't exist before 1900. The designation was effectively "compensation" by the government to hospitals, so the latter would agree to admit patients regardless of ability to pay. Quid pro quo.

Dont feel bad for hospitals and their "curse" of nonpaying patients. They got their pound of flesh.

Nonprofit status its not just federal exemption.. its ALL Taxes (state, local, real estate, commercial, etc).

Imagine your life if you didn't have to pay sale tax? Property tax? State tax ? FICA, FUTA SDI?

That is the life nonprofit hospitals enjoy.

The executives, board members, and middle management at all of these companies. I've worked with some of the companies you named, they have lavish offices and gravy train jobs for everyone and their crony friends. Yes, they're "not for profit", but that doesn't mean no one gets (insane) bonuses. Checkout their 990s sometime to get an idea at the excess of cash being pocketed.

Employers and owners of practices, hospitals, clinics etc. Shareholders of pharmaceutical and medical device companies. Executives and administrative roles are paid well, too.