States seeking more information about community benefit from non-profit hospitals

More than a dozen states have considered or passed legislation to better define the community benefit provided by non-profit hospitals in exchange for tax breaks, to increase transparency about the benefits hospitals provide, or, in some cases, to set minimum financial thresholds for charitable help to their communities (Source: “As Nonprofit Hospitals Reap Big Tax Breaks, States Scrutinize Their Required Charity Spending,” Kaiser Health News, July 11).

A congressional committee in April heard testimony on the issue.

“States have a general interest in understanding how much is being spent on community benefit and, increasingly, understanding what those expenditures are targeted at,” said Maureen Hensley-Quinn, a senior director at the National Academy for State Health Policy. “It’s not a blue or red state issue. It really is across the board that we’ve been seeing inquiries on this.”