On HCMC’s list of financial troubles, generosity is a leading culprit 

Earlier this year, people familiar with Hennepin County Medical Center’s (HCMC) dire finances started worrying publicly that the Minneapolis institution would be forced to shut down. In May, a massive legislative bailout bought time for the region’s largest safety-net hospital. But it didn’t fix the underlying causes of its troubles, high among them the skyrocketing cost of providing care to people who can’t afford it.  

Take cancer treatment, for example. It’s notoriously expensive and can even send patients in stable financial situations, with comprehensive health insurance, ...