The joint venture owns the com- puter and related equipment and recovers its costs from both Hospital and Clinic in proportion to their use of the system. See 42 C.F.R. sec. Whether the Hospital and the Clinic have embarked on a joint venture is a question of state law, in the absence of federal regulations addressing the subject. Like partner- ships, joint ventures may be created in Illinois without formal paperwork. This gives the Hospital's argument breathing room.
Many cases say that a joint venture is a business enterprise conducted for profit, e.g.
Every business enterprise must decide whether to buy inputs in the market or make them itself. G.J. Leasing Co. v. Union Electric Co., No. 2-3, or an administrative agency. If a characterization is sustainable, it must be sustained. And the Secretary's characterization of this arrangement is readily sustainable.