[m000]

If I interpret TFA coorectly, the 72k difference would probably be counted as "charity care". Which is different than a loss, but still tax deductible.

In the grand scheme of things, this causes multi-level market "malfunctions". First, hospitals are incentivized to bloat bills, making healthcare virtually unaffordable if you don't have the bargaining power of an insurance company. Worse, this ties employees to their employer who subsidizes their healthcare plan (for another tax deduction I presume), thus twisting the dynamics of the labour market in favour of the employers.