Tax-exempt yardstick: defining the measurements.
Congress, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and state and local governments still are trying to determine requirements a hospital must meet to warrant tax exemption. Revisions to a bill introduced by Rep. Brian Donnelly (D-Mass.) likely will focus Congressional debate on whether charity care or the broader concept of community benefits is the most appropriate measure for not-for-profit hospitals to meet; the IRS may develop intermediate sanctions it could impose on errant not-for-profit facilities in lieu of a total revocation of tax-exempt status; and perhaps the most stringent clamp-down on healthcare facilities' tax-exempt status will come from state and local governments that develop boundaries for tax-exempt hospitals to maintain. Not-for-profit facilities can respond to increased scrutiny by viewing government challenges as opportunities to "tell their stories" about charity care and community benefits.
Healthcare Financial Management Association, Washington, DC.
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Kuchler
D002608:Charities / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006788:Hospitals, Voluntary / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D008489:Medical Indigency / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D013660:Taxes / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D014481:United States