Resources & Tools

Click for more on each Resource/Tool:

Community Benefits | Hospital Financial Assistance | IRS Reporting for Hospitals | Reports from our Partners

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Community Benefits

• Testimony to the Massachusetts Public Health Council Regarding the Determination of Need for the Transfer of Ownership of the Caritas Christi Hospitals Community Catalyst testified about the proposed sale of the nonprofit Caritas Christi hospital system to a for-profit entity, recommending additional conditions be attached to its approval.
• Protecting Consumers, Encouraging Community Dialogue: ACA Requirements for Non-Profit Hospitals This outlines the provisions in the Affordable Care Act focused on non-profit hospitals, and how advocates can engage in making them effective.
• Letter to Congress for Hospital Safety Net Standards Our national sign-on letter to Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid requests a federal floor for consumer protection and accountability standards related to hospital safety net services.
• Americans Believe Non-profit Hospitals Should Provide Charity Care and Support Regulation and Penalties If They Fall Short A survey shows Americans overwhelmingly support hospital community benefits. This fact sheet details the survey results.
• Protecting and Strengthening the Hospital Safety Net What free care and community benefits are hospitals required to provide, and how can you make sure your hospital is living up to its obligations? Use this fact sheet to learn what you can do at the federal, state and local levels to keep hospitals accountable.
• The Charity Care and Community Benefit Obligations of Nonprofit Hospitals Our recommendations for national standards mandating nonprofit hospitals to provide charity care and community benefits.
• The Free Care Safety Net This guide explains what constitutes free care, why hospitals are required to provide it and what good free-care policies should look like.
• The Health Care Institution Responsibility Model Act Model legislation for advocates working to promote standards and oversight for community benefits offered by hospitals and health plans.
• Commentary to the Health Care Institution Responsibility Model Act Model legislation for advocates working to promote standards and oversight for community benefits offered by hospitals and health plans.
• Compendium of Community Benefit Laws Summaries of laws in 18 states governing the provision of community benefits.
• Community Benefits: The Need for Action, an Opportunity for Health Care Change This community benefits workbook for advocates is an in-depth resource tool for advocates working to improve the community benefits programs offered by health care institutions in their communities.
• Congressional Testimony on Free Care and Community Benefit Standards (October 2007) Community Catalyst's Statement at the Roundtable on the Senate Finance Committee minority staff discussion draft on tax-exempt hospitals.
• Comments to Senator Grassley’s Staff on Proposed Standards for Nonprofit Hospital Community Benefits (September 2007) A response to the July 2007 “Discussion Draft” regarding free care and community benefit standards for tax-exempt hospitals.
• Comments on Community Health Needs Assessment Requirements for Tax-Exempt Hospitals Community Catalyst, along with 56 other organizations, submitted comments to the IRS regarding community health needs assessment for tax-exempt hospitals.

Hospital Financial Assistance

• Best Kept Secrets: Are Non-Profit Hospitals Informing Patients About Charity Care Programs? This report from The Access Project and Community Catalyst shows that many non-profit hospitals are not doing enough to meet AHA guidelines to have clear, written policies to help patients determine if they qualify for charity care and to make these policies available to patients and the public.
• Free Care Compendium Community Catalyst’s Free Care Compendium summarizes the free care laws and regulations in each of the fifty states. The Compendium includes a national snapshot of regulatory and legislative trends across the states.
• Hospital Free Care Web Tool An interactive tool to help advocates build customized legislation providing standards and oversight for hospital financial assistance programs.
• The Patient Financial Assistance Act and Commentary "Free Care Model Act" The model act and commentary can serve as a baseline for policymakers and stakeholders as they develop legislation to establish standards and oversight procedures for hospital financial assistance programs. It can be used side-by-side with the interactive Hospital Free Care Web Tool (legislation builder).
• “Not There When You Need It: The Search for Free Care” A report on the challenges uninsured and underinsured patients encounter in getting information about hospital financial assistance programs.
• "Free Care Monitoring Project" Guide and Tools Advocates will find a “how-to” manual and a set of tools to use in launching their own free care monitoring projects.

IRS Reporting for Hospitals

• Community Catalyst Letter to the Treasury regarding making Schedule H Optional for 2011 Community Catalyst was disappointed to learn of the IRS decision to make reporting on compliance with consumer protections in the Affordable Care Act optional for tax-exempt hospitals for Tax Year 2010. These protections, found in Section 9007 of the Affordable Care Act, offer significant relief from medical debt and improve access to health care for low- and middle-income families.
• Comments to the IRS on New Requirements for Tax Exempt Hospitals Community Catalyst and 66 other organizations' letter to the IRS providing comments on the new requirements for hospitals.
• Comments to IRS on Draft Instructions to Form 990, Schedule H A response to the proposed guidance on completing Schedule H, the new tax form nonprofit hospitals must file to describe their free care and community benefit activities.
• Comments to IRS on Draft Form 990, Schedule H A response to the proposed Schedule H, the new tax form nonprofit hospitals must file to describe their free care and community benefit activities.

Reports from our Partners

• The Medical Debt Crisis In Indianapolis Based on an individual survey, this report from our partner, Citizen Action in Indiana, found that 80 percent of respondents owe money to a local hospital—and about half of them say they were never informed about the availability of charity care or payment plans.
• Clearing the Fog: Achieving Reasonable Public Disclosure of Available Free and Reduced Cost Health Care This report, by Community Catalyst partners the Cancer Coalition of Galveston County, explores whether Galveston County, Texas health care organizations provide free care to people in need.