Richard L. Gundling, FHFMA
Vice President, Product Development, HFMA
As is highlighted in this month's hfm magazine, communicating or "telling your story" of community benefit is a growing requirement. Congressional committees and regulatory agencies have focused on nonprofit healthcare organizations. One area of particular scrutiny has been the role of charity care and community benefit in justifying tax-exempt status. Nonprofit hospitals are an important part of the healthcare delivery network and provide a wide variety of community services that fall within the IRS definition of "charitable" under Revenue Ruling 69-545. Because of this wide range of services, HFMA has encouraged Congress to use great caution when they view quantitative research that compares amounts of charity care provided by individual hospitals. Some hospitals that provide smaller amounts of charity care may instead devote their exempt resources to other important community services, such as trauma centers, health clinics, neonatal intensive care units, and other important needs not served by governments or for-profit businesses. HFMA asked Congress to realize that healthcare needs, including charity care needs, differ greatly by community, and so solutions, whether legislated or voluntary, must be flexible to best serve the needs of the patients and communities they serve.
