Here’s why a plan to turn private hospital giant Healthscope into a charity is stirring debate

Back in May, the parent companies of private hospital operator Healthscope fell into receivership, burdened by A$1.6 billion in debt.

Since then, Healthscope’s hospitals have been kept open while receivers have worked to find buyers for the business. But now, the groundwork has also been laid for a potential restructuring of Healthscope as a charity.

This would allow the new entity to access a number of tax benefits – including tax exemptions on “fringe benefits” provided to employees.