Community Benefit Resources
ACHI Community Benefit Bulletin
ACHI's Community Benefit Bulletin is an occasional e-mail notice - exclusively for ACHI members - that highlights breaking news, legal and regulatory developments, educational opportunities and tools for community benefit.
For more information or to subscribe, write to communityhlth@aha.org.
In addition to the resources below, visit ACHI's Business & Consultant Directory, which contains links to a number of product vendors and service providers to assist in community benefit program planning, measurement, reporting, and more.
National Resource Web Sites
Advancing the State of the Art in Community Benefit (ASACB)
Tools, worksheets, resources and case examples from a national demonstration project.American Health Lawyers Association -- Community Benefit Toolkit
American Hospital Association -- Tax-Exempt Status and IRS Form 990 and Schedule H Resources
Alliance for Advancing Nonprofit Health Care -- Community Benefit Resources
State-by-State Requirements & Voluntary Reports
State Government Community Benefit
and Charity Care Requirements & Reports
State Hospital Association
Community Benefit Reports & ResourcesMandated State Community Benefit and Related Laws, Guidelines and Standards
Catholic Health Association, August 2010Community Benefit Voluntary Reporting by U.S. State
Catholic Health Association, August 2010Health Care Community Benefits: A Compendium of State Laws
Community Catalyst, November 2007
IRS and Govn't Resources, Reports and Forms
AHA letter to IRS urges flexibility in implementing new tax-exempt rules (September 24, 2012)
2011 IRS Form 990 Schedule H and 2011 Instructions for Schedule H (January 17, 2012)
AHA, HFMA and VHA Inc. letter to Office of Management and Budget regarding 2011 Form 990, Schedule H (February 2, 2012)
Results of the 2009 Schedule H Project, prepared by Ernst & Young LLP for the American Hospital Association (January 2012)
Affordable Care Act: The Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division's Planning Efforts for the Health Care Reform Legislation
See pages 4-5 and 11 for content on "Additional Requirements for Tax Exempt Hospitals." Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, August 2011IRS seeks comments on community health needs assessment guidance, July 7 - Sept 23, 2011 (IRS Notice 2011-52)
AHA, HFMA and VHA Inc. detailed comments to improve revised IRS Schedule H Form and Instructions (August 24, 2011)
AHA, HFMA and VHA Inc. comment letter on newly revised Schedule H Form and Instructions (April 20, 2011)
PPACA Section 9007, Additional Requirements for Charitable Hospitals
The complete text of Section 9007 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, relating to tax-exempt hospital requirements.Technical Explanation of PPACA Sec. 9007, Additional Requirement for Charitable Hospitals
Re-states the provisons of PPACA Secton 9007, and includes a clarifying statement about conducting community health needs assessments.
Joint Committee on Taxation, Congress of the United States, March 2010IRS Hospital Compliance Project: Final Report
U.S. Internal Revenue Service, February 2009
- American Hospital Association press release, 2-12-09IRS Hospital Compliance Project: Interim Report
The Internal Revenue Service released an interim report summarizing responses by almost 500 tax-exempt hospitals to a May 2006 questionnaire about how they provide and report benefits to the community.Compliance Check Questionnaire for Tax-Exempt Hospitals
The IRS mailed this form to select hospitals beginning in May 2006. The questionnaire is nine pages in length, and asks questions about hospital community benefit operations, uncompensated care, billing, and compensation practices. IRS Form 13790, May 2006.IRS Guidelines for Healthcare Institutions
Introduction to and aid in processing of IRC 501(c)(3) exemption applications submitted by health providers, including issues to keep in mind in evaluating whether activities that "promote health" are also charitable.IRS Revenue Ruling 69-545
Does a non-profit hospital qualify for exemption from Federal income tax under section 501(c)(3)?IRS Revenue Ruling 83-157
Does a non-profit hospital lacking an emergency room qualify for exemption from Federal income tax under section 501(c)(3)?Nonprofit Hospitals Variation in Standards and Guidance Limits Comparison of How Hospitals Meet Community Benefit Requirements
U.S. Government Accountability Office, September 2008State Tax Exemption Standards with Quantitative Thresholds for Nonprofit Health Care Organizations
Alliance for Advancing Nonprofit Health Care, July 2007
The Accountability of Nonprofit Hospitals: Lessons from Maryland's Community Benefit Reporting Requirements
Bradford H. Gray and Mark Schlesinger, Inquiry, Vol. 46, No. 2, pp. 122–139. 2009Balancing Margin and Mission: Hospitals Alter Billing and Collection Practices for Uninsured Patients
Issue Brief from the Center for Studying Health System Change, October 2005Beyond Charity Care: Mission Matters for Tax-Exempt Health Care
By J. David Seay, Esquire, Catholic Health Association, 2007Beyond the Numerical Tally ~ Quality and Stewardship in Community Benefit
Public Health Institute, Feb. 2009Charitable Expectations of Nonprofit Hospitals: Lessons from Maryland
Bradford H. Gray and Mark Schlesinger, Health Affairs, July 2009Charity Care Strategies for Hospitals in a Changing Landscape
PricewaterhouseCoopers' Health Research Institute guide to charity care, 2005Community Benefit Bibliography (28 pages)
Annotated bibliography of published community benefit articles in eight topic categories. Health Research & Educational Trust/Association for Community Health Improvement, July 2008Community Benefit Is a Vital Part of Healthcare Strategy
By Michael Bilton, Spectrum, newsletter of the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development, July/August 2007.Community Benefit: Overcoming Organizational Barriers and Laying the Foundation for Success
Reprint: Inquiry, Article 47, Summer 2010.Community Benefit Programs were Developed in the 1980s, but not Adopted
Will this time be different? By Robert Sigmond, Hospitals & Health Networks, May 2004Community Benefit Tools for Success
By Michael Bilton and Kevin Barnett, H&HN Online, April 18, 2006Does It All Add Up? Flaws in Schedule H Community Benefit Reporting Will Affect Nonprofit Multihospital Systems
By Bradford Gray, Trustee, March 2010Health Progress Journal: Community Benefit Issue
This issue of the Catholic Health Association's journal includes an extensive special section on Community Benefit with more than 10 articles offering a range of perspectives. July-August 2005My Brother's Keeper: Growing Expectations Confront Hospitals on Community Benefits and Charity Care
PricewaterhouseCoopers' update to their 2005 charity care report. October 2006Nonprofit Hospitals and the Provision of Community Benefits
Congressional Budget Office, December 2006The Robert M. Sigmond Library
Contains a wealth of writings by community benefit pioneer Bob Sigmond.What Have You Done for Me Lately? Assessing Hospital Community Benefit (19 pages)
Issue Brief from the National Health Policy Forum, April 2007
Community Benefit Messaging/Communication
Hospitals Caring for Communities / Community Connections
American Hospital Association resources to support hospitals in developing, implementing and communicating supportive and collaborative relationships in service to communities.Messages and Strategies for Community-Owned Health Care Organizations, A Guide to Communicating Value
Created for marketing and communications leaders and senior strategy executives responsible for communicating the value of tax exempt, community-owned health care to the communities they serve. VHA, Inc. 2000Telling the Hospital Story ~ Going Beyond Schedule H
Strategy checklist for leaders, guidance for communications and reporting, and sample reports. AHA, 2009.Free Online Presentation: Telling the Hospital Story: Going Beyond Schedule H. Download any time. Turn on audio speakers. 26 minutes.
Community Benefit Reporting
AHA Guidance on Reporting Community Benefit
American Hospital Association, November 2006AHA's Schedule H Practice Website: An Educational Tool (Members only; log-in required) (April 2010)
Guide for Planning and Reporting Community Benefit
Catholic Health Association, with VHA, Inc. 2008.
Community Benefit Planning
Guide for Planning and Reporting Community Benefit
Catholic Health Association, with VHA, Inc. 2008.Community Benefit Program Memos and Planning Templates, 2003-04
Thank you to Catholic Healthcare West for making these documents available for educational purposes.Community Benefit Categories Worksheet - FY2004 Community Benefit Inventory
Microsoft Excel worksheet for calculating community benefit in financial terms. VHA Mountain States, 2004Community Benefit Planning: Strengthening Commitment to Mission
Workbook on community benefit strategy and planning, with VHA's five suggested community benefit standards. VHA, Inc., 2002Community Benefits: The Need for Action, An Opportunity for Healthcare Change
The Access Project, 2000
Financial Information and Tools
Charity Care, Billing and Collection Practices
Resources for hospitals from the American Hospital Association.HFMA Valuation and Financial Statement Presentation of Charity Service
Accounting and reporting charity care and bad debt.Attributes of Tax-Exempt Healthcare Organizations
Healthcare Financial Management Association, March, 2006Relationship of Community Benefit to Hospital Tax-Exempt Status
Healthcare Financial Management Association, April, 2005
