Nonprofit Hospital Accountability: New Community Benefit Standards and Lower Patient Bills.
This law establishes stricter requirements for tax-exempt hospitals, forcing them to spend the full value of their tax breaks on direct community benefits like free care and training. For citizens, this means hospitals cannot limit the number of patients using Medicare/Medicaid, and bills for those receiving financial aid will be calculated using lower Medicare rates.
Key points
Nonprofit hospitals must spend 100% of the value of their tax exemptions on community benefits, including free care, training, or facility improvements.
Bills for patients receiving financial assistance must now be calculated based on lower Medicare rates, potentially reducing out-of-pocket costs significantly.
Hospitals are prohibited from limiting the number of patients served under Medicare and Medicaid programs.
New oversight measures are established to ensure hospitals comply with the community benefit spending and financial assistance policies.
Introduced
Citizen Poll