community benefit
PA hospitals peg community benefit at $3.9B
A trade group representing Pennsylvania hospitals has issued a study quantifying the community benefit its members deliver, as well as the economic impact they have on the state. The report,... Read more...
Groups push for federal community benefit standards
A coalition of community groups is recommending that the federal government set some strict, easily measurable community benefit standards for non-profit hospitals. The groups, led by Boston-based... Read more...
IRS says 'uncompensated care' definition is dicey
Sure, U.S. non-profits say they deliver uncompensated care--and there's no doubt poor and uncompensated patients are getting some form of service. The problem, however, is there's no universally... Read more...
IL hospital must prove community benefit, or else
Of late, state and federal regulators have been challenging non-profit hospitals to prove they deserve their tax exemption. Hospital associations, health systems and individual facilities have responded by aggressively touting their estimates of the community benefit and levels of uncompensated care that they provide.
This exercise is important for all U.S. non-profits, but there's even more at …
Wisconsin moving ahead with hospital tax plans
Nearly all of Wisconsin's hospitals--a full 95 percent--are not-for-profits that enjoy a state property tax exemption. Despite resistance from the hospitals, the state is continuing to look at recouping some of that revenue with a separate hospital-specific tax. State governor Jim Doyle (D) wants to impose an 0.8 percent tax on the state's 109 non-profit hospitals, which he says will generate $418 million in revenues for the state over the next two years. The proposal has been posted by a …
... Read more...Case study: Another battle over charity care
Here's another example of the issues hospitals are confronting as scrutiny mounts over charity care. This time it's publicly-funded healthcare system JPS Health Network of Fort Worth, TX, which is facing questions from at least one community activist and the local medical society over its charity claims. Commissioners in Tarrant County, which funds the hospital district with property taxes, got a withering letter from critic Ann Sutherland this …
... Read more...VHA: Charity policy must come from the top
More or less by default, many hospitals have left their charity care policies to be determined by financial managers. However, with state and federal regulators taking a hard look at whether hospitals are earning their tax-exempt status, this approach won't cut it anymore, says attorney T.J. Sullivan, a partner with Drinkler Biddle & Reath. Sullivan, who spoke at the VHA Inc's national conference in Denver this week, noted that federal legislators are challenging the basis for many hospitals' tax-exempt status.
What's more, a number of states--notably Illinois--are taking an aggressive stance on the tax-exemption issue. To address this problem, everyone involved in a hospital's management has to take part in setting community benefit policies, she says. "It has to be elevated to a board level, and all of your senior executives have to be involved," she said. "It can't just be the finance people."
These execs can take a number of steps to make sure their tax-exemption remains intact, she said. These include making sure the value of your community benefits at least matches whatever profits you show, assessing charity care value at cost to avoid claims of price-related inflation and touting the benefits you provide in the media to avoid perceptions that you aren't doing enough. She also recommended that hospitals team up with local advocacy organizations, which could become friends rather than critics if you demonstrate that you're really making a community impact. Meanwhile, hospitals should brace themselves for the installation of a new IRS commissioner, which could change federal income tax exemption policy for hospitals in unpredictable ways, she warned.
To learn about this issue:
- check out how the Michigan Hospital Association pitched its members' community contributions
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Wisc. hospitals may offer big uninsured discounts
With hospital industry pricing policies under increasing pressure, the Wisconsin Hospital Association has taken the bull by the horns. The hospital trade group is now recommending that uninsured patients automatically receive fee discounts similar to those enjoyed by managed care plans. The group is also suggesting that members work harder to let the uninsured know about charity care and financial assistance options.
WHA's recommendations aren't being made in a vacuum. Not only do …
... Read more...Missouri hospitals claim $1.1B in charity care
As IRS scrutiny of non-profits continues, it makes sense for hospitals to proactively prove that they're justifying their tax-free status. That's why, in part, that Missouri hospitals have come together to report on their charity-care and community efforts, which they say were worth $1.1 billion last year. The new report, which was prepared by the Missouri Hospital Association, calculates that the state's hospitals contribute $7.8 billion in salaries, benefits, taxes and capital …
... Read more...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 …
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