UPMC Gives Pittsburgh the One-Finger Salute--Twice

UPMC, the largest member of Pittsburgh's health care oligopoly, whose fees are well above the national average, was in the news twice last week. The City of Pittsburgh is suing UPMC, which claims to be a non-profit, to strip it of its tax-exempt status. In a court hearing last week, UPMC claimed it does not owe any payroll taxes because it does not have any employees! (Although their website claims they have 55,000 employees, UPMC says these people are employed by subsidiaries.) So far, Judge R. Stanton Wettick, Jr., has not ruled on the credibility of this claim.

The Bombardier BD-700-1A10 Global Express

On Friday, it was learned that UPMC is spending $51 million on a new corporate jet plane, a Bombardier Global Express, described as “a luxury, ultra-long range business jet with twin Rolls Royce engines.” For security reasons, the flight plans of this airplane are to remain hidden from the public.

I'm sure Pittsburghers who are struggling to pay their medical bills will be thrilled to hear that UPMC is able to afford $51 million for a new stealth jetliner. But who is going to ride around on this luxury aircraft, since, as we now know, UPMC has no employees?

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