Hospitals mobilizing to fight proposed charity care rules — MedCity morning read, June 1, 2009

CHICAGO, Illinois — The American Medical Association is urging hospital leaders to contact their congressional representatives to oppose a federal proposal to set a minimum for charity care, according to the New York Times.

“Ask your senators to oppose charity care proposal,” the Times quoted from an association bulletin issued Thursday.

The bulletin is part of a lobbying campaign that hospitals are expected to begin this week to prevent Congress from including charity care requirements in legislation to overhaul the nation’s health care system, the Times said.

The Senate Finance Committee is considering a bipartisan proposal that would require hospitals to provide a “minimum annual level of charitable patient care” as a condition for getting or keeping tax-exempt status as charitable organizations. This status enables hospitals to avoid paying income taxes on profits and property taxes, among other taxes.

“A formulaic, one-size-fits-all charity care standard will hamstring hospitals’ efforts to respond to the unique needs of their communities,” the AMA bulletin said, according to the Times. “It would penalize children’s, teaching and research hospitals and those in rural areas because they provide community benefit in a variety of forms other than just charity care.”

In mid-May, Ohio’s 178 hospitals said they provided a record amount — $2.2 billion — in community benefit to their local communities in 2007, according to the Ohio Hospital Association.

In addition to fights they may have in Washington, Ohio hospitals are fighting a proposed hospital corporate franchise fee they say could cost them hundreds of millions of dollars a year, causing them to cut jobs and services.

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