title: Charitable intentions. CHA, VHA unveil community-benefit guidelines developed to help not-for-profit hospitals justify their tax exemptions.
abstract: With new guidelines from the CHA and VHA on reporting community benefits, not-for-profit hospitals are being advised to drop bad debt and Medicare shortfalls from their accounting of how they fulfill their mission. While the AHA doesn't agree, some experts do. MedPAC member Nancy Kane, right, says bad debt "is a tough one, but I don't think a lot of bad debt is a community benefit.
authors.forename: Cinda
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Becker
mesh_terms: D000066:Accounting / Q000592:standards*; D002410:Catholicism; D002608:Charities / Q000191:economics*; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations / Q000191:economics*; D030881:Disclosure; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006788:Hospitals, Voluntary / Q000191:economics* / Q000592:standards; D017057:Medically Uninsured; D011203:Poverty; D012941:Social Responsibility; D012954:Societies, Hospital; D019464:Tax Exemption; D017664:Uncompensated Care / Q000191:economics; D014481:United States