AHA Sends Report on Community Benefit to the IRSA report released by Ernst & Young finds that all hospitals that responded to an Internal Revenue Service questionnaire on community benefit provide services to any patient, have a written policy on uncompensated care, provide substantial charity care and provide other community benefits, including immunizations and medical screenings. Ernst & Young independently analyzed 132 of the responses to an IRS questionnaire on community benefit that was sent to tax-exempt hospitals in May and June. The report concludes that the IRS should carefully analyze the lessons learned from the questionnaire before imposing additional reporting requirements on tax-exempt hospitals. Also, hospitals should be allowed to tell their community benefit story in more than a simple yes/no response, including through filing their community benefit report with the IRS. The report also concludes that the IRS should clarify questions and definitions to ensure uniform and reliable answers. The AHA is requesting a meeting with the IRS to further discuss the report and determine ways the AHA can help the IRS gather consistent and uniform information about the community benefits that hospitals provide. "We look forward to working with the IRS to ensure the Service appropriately recognizes the full range and value of the benefits that hospitals provide to the communities they serve" said AHA Executive Vice President Rick Pollack. Click here for AHA Tax Exemption background information.
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