Report prompts close scrutiny of charity care at Calif. nonprofit hospitals

Aug 16 2012

Nonprofit California hospitals will face a state Senate committee hearing Wednesday after an auditor's report found variance and leeway in just how much charity care the tax-exempt hospitals give.

Los Angeles Times: Nonprofit Hospitals Face State Hearing On Tax-Exempt Status
A California state auditor's report shows that nonprofit hospitals have significant leeway in determining how much charity care they provide to the neediest patients. A state Senate committee will discuss that issue and others at a hearing Wednesday as part of the debate over whether nonprofit hospitals do enough to justify their tax-exempt status (Terhune, 8/14).

California Watch/The Bay Citizen: Nonprofit Hospitals' Charity Care Faces Legislative Scrutiny
Nonprofit hospitals in California are facing new scrutiny over whether they are doing enough for the public to justify their tax-exempt status. The Legislature expects these hospitals to provide community benefits such as free or reduced-priced health care for the poor, known as charity care. The hospitals are required by law to report to the state annually on their community benefit plans (Mieszkowski, 8/15).

A new survey also says that nonprofit hospitals face more audits than for-profit ones --

Modern Healthcare: Not-For-Profits Face More Government Audits Than For-Profits, Survey Finds
Not-for-profit health care organizations face greater scrutiny from government audits than their for-profit counterparts, according to a Health Care Compliance Association survey. Not-for-profits reported undergoing an average of six audits compared with four by for-profit health care providers in a 12-month period. Larger companies underwent more audits, as 76% of organizations with 5,000 or more employees reported at least one Medicare recovery audit-contractor review versus 30% of organizations with 250 employees or fewer (Selvam, 8/14).