Hospitals ask OMB to intervene in new tax form

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released new draft regulations for the revised Schedule H that include few recommended changes from hospitals, prompting the hospital industry to ask for another agency's help, reports AHA News Now.

As a result of the draft regulations, which were posted by the IRS for public comment last week, many hospitals may have to file Schedule H forms that are hundreds of pages long. The changes were prompted as part of an effort by the Affordable Care Act to create more transparency on the part of hospitals and make their reporting on charitable care and community benefits more granular.

"Few imagined that the Schedule H form could become such a burden on the tax-exempt hospital field, particularly small hospitals and large hospital systems," AHA General Counsel Mindy Hatton said in a Dec. 16 news brief.

The AHA has joined forces with VHA and the Healthcare Financial Management Association to lobby the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to request its intervention in the matter.

"We are hopeful OMB will respond to the field's concerns and request for assistance in right-sizing the form and its burdens," Hatton said.

To learn more:
- read the AHA News Now article
- Examine the draft Form H (.pdf)