Community Benefit and Community Engagement
The IRS requires non-profit hospitals to provide community benefit in exchange for federal tax-exempt status to “promote health…so the community as a whole benefits.” Increasing access to care for low- and moderate-income families through financial assistance (charity care) is one of the most basic forms of community benefit. But community benefit can also help address broader issues that impact health outside the hospital’s four walls such as investing in prevention and addressing the economic, environmental and social factors that can impact our health.
New federal requirements in the Affordable Care Act include community benefit mandates for non-profit hospitals. One component mandates that non-profit hospitals conduct a community health needs assessment (CHNA) and implementation plan at least every three years. Community Catalyst works with partners around the country to ensure hospitals are engaging the communities they serve—particularly the most vulnerable and disenfranchised—in these processes so hospital community benefit programs reflect and target the priorities and needs of the communities they serve.
Our priorities include:
- Increasing transparency in community benefit reporting through public policy changes at the state and federal level.
- Equipping state advocates, community-based organizations, and other groups to engage their local hospitals in assessing community health needs, choosing priorities to address, and implementing and evaluating community benefit programs.
- Building bridges between hospital, public health, and community leaders who share a common interest in improving community health and access to care.
- Exploring the linkages between community benefit and economic development that creates opportunities for low-income people, communities of color, and other historically disadvantaged groups.
- Improving standards for hospital community benefit, financial assistance, and billing and debt collection at the state and federal level.