Senator wants nonprofit hospital investigation

It looks like there's more trouble brewing on the charity care front. U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Finance, has asked the Government Accountability Office to conduct an investigation into whether nonprofits are meeting their community benefit obligations. He's also asked the GAO to investigate compensation for executives and board members at nonprofit hospitals. "We need to get a better handle on how nonprofit hospitals are fulfilling their requirement to serve the community in exchange for the generous tax breaks they receive," Grassley said in a press release. Grassley is also working with his staff to develop proposals on ways to monitor the level of charity care and community programs nonprofits deliver. Tracking nonprofit hospitals has long been an issue for Grassley who, in 2005, sent a letter to 10 nonprofits asking them to justify their tax exemption.

To get more background on Grassley's initiative:
- read this piece in The Des Moines Register

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