October 2023 Community Benefit Update
We are pleased to share the following community benefit news and resources with you. Please visit our website to access all of CHA's updates and resources on community benefit.
Featured CHA Community Benefit News, Resources and Upcoming Events
Community Benefit and Tax Exemption: CHA's Congressional Staff Briefing
On Sept. 7, CHA held an online briefing for congressional staff on community benefit and tax exemption. More than 75 congressional staff registered for this event. Stephen Clarke, Executive Director of Exempt Organization Tax Services at Ernst & Young, discussed the policy basics of community benefit. Stephen previously served at the IRS, where he led the revision of Form 990. Two CHA members described their community benefit process and programs: Coletta Barrett, Vice President of Mission at Our Lady of the Lake in Baton Rouge, and Marcos Pesquera, Vice President for Health Equity and Including at CHRISTUS Health. CHA resources were shared with attendees.
» View the Recording
Community Benefit 101: The Nuts and Bolts of Planning and Reporting Community Benefit
Oct. 24 to 26, 2023, 2-5 p.m. ET
This virtual conference is designed to equip new community benefit professionals and those interested in the subject with essential knowledge and skills. It covers topics such as aligning community benefit with your organization's mission, staying updated on tax exemption and policy issues, effective program planning and evaluation, policy implementation, community benefit accounting principles and storytelling. CHA members and staff and associates of hospitals or health systems that are members of the American Hospital Association are eligible for a discounted registration fee.
» Register
Transforming Health Care Together: The San Antonio Health Collaborative Story
Nov. 9, 2023, 2-3 p.m. ET
Join CHA for a webinar showcasing the Health Collaborative of San Antonio, a nationally recognized model of excellence. Learn about this unique initiative uniting competing health systems, universities, tech experts and government entities to address community health needs and disparities. Explore how the Health Collaborative of San Antonio has evolved into a cutting-edge, grassroots and research-driven resource benefiting the entire community. Discover how this success story can inspire positive changes in health care nationwide.
» Register
Call for Bold Ideas: Assembly 2024
Submit your ministry's bold ideas today!
CHA's annual Catholic Health Assembly has been reimagined! Our time together will be all about uniting as a ministry as we empower bold change to elevate human flourishing. As planning ramps up for Assembly 2024, we are looking for your ministry's bold ideas, programs and initiatives to showcase. This preliminary call for innovative programs is short and simple. At this point in the planning process, we aim to gather high-level ideas. In January, you will receive a second call for innovative ideas, requesting more details on the program or initiative you think should be featured in San Diego. Catholic health care has always led the way in providing innovative approaches to caring for our patients and promoting community health and well-being.
» Submit your bold idea
» Learn more about Assembly
New CHA Community Benefit Resources
Community Benefit Fact Sheet (2023)
Commonly Asked Questions About Community Benefit
Community Benefit Categories reference guide
Community Benefit & Other Tax-Exempt Hospital Requirements reference guide
See the complete CHA Calendar of Events
Community Benefit Examples from the Field
Greenville's Bon Secours works with pastors to bring health campaigns to Black churches (Sept. 12, 2023)
GLOW Program's Regional Approach Routes People to Effective Care (Fall 2023)
Community Benefit at CHA: How It Started and Where It's Headed (Summer 2023)
View recent articles from Catholic Health World and Health Progress featuring community benefit news and programs from the across the ministry.
News from the Field
AHA's Updated Community Health Assessment Toolkit
The Community Health Assessment Toolkit has been updated to reflect changes in practices and approaches to both assessment and collaborative community health improvement efforts. The Toolkit highlights intentional approaches to advancing health equity at every step of the process, robust community engagement and data practices, and how hospitals' community health assessment collateral can be used to inform other strategic initiatives.
» Explore the toolkit
Call for Proposals: Communities Joined in Action Conference
Communities Joined In Action (CJA) is hosting their conference, Inspiring Health, Equity, and Well-Being, on May 1-2, 2024, in Albuquerque, NM. CJA is now accepting proposals for conference sessions on five topics: Organizational effectiveness/workforce, Financing and sustainability; Innovative Initiatives, Partnering, and community engagement; and Social determinants of health focus. Applications are due Nov. 6, 2023.
» Submit a proposal
» Learn more about the conference
AHA Releases Results from 2020 Tax-Exempt Hospitals' Schedule H Community Benefit Reports
The report notes that "Tax-exempt hospitals provided nearly $130 billion in total benefits to their communities in 2020 alone…" with hospitals' total benefits to the community of 15.5% of expenses, which includes financial assistance and other community benefits, community building activities, Medicare shortfall, and bad debt expense attributable to financial assistance.
» Read the Oct. 10, 2023 report
Senate HELP Committee Report
On Oct. 10 the Senate HELP Committee released a report on charity care, collection practices, and executive compensation of select not-for-profit hospitals. The report's conclusions are based, in part, on a Senate HELP Committee majority staff analysis of 16 health systems. It calls for greater transparency, regulations, and potential minimum charity care amounts. The data cited for the report's findings, that not-for-profit hospitals' community benefit spend is less than taxes forgone, did not take into consideration all of the community benefit categories as defined by the Internal Revenue Service. CHA responded in a letter to the Senate HELP Committee.
» Read the report
» Read CHA's response
The Root Cause Coalition's National Summit on the Social Determinants of Health
Dec. 3-5, 2023
The Root Cause Coalition's Annual National Summit brings together key stakeholders from health systems, hospital associations, foundations, businesses, national and community nonprofits, health insurers, academic institutions, local government and policy centers to share best practices. To achieve health equity for all we believe we must work together, across sectors, to address systemic racism and the social determinants of health.
» Register
Helpful Articles
On Aug. 7, "Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA.), Raphael Warnock (D-GA.), Bill Cassidy (R-LA.), and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) late Monday sent letters to both the Internal Revenue Service commissioner and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration calling for an investigation into "overly broad" tax wording and oversight of roughly $28 billion in exemptions claimed by tax-exempt hospitals. From STAT: Senators push IRS to Launch nonprofit hospital probe (Aug. 2023)
The Joint Commission, National Quality Forum combine | Modern Healthcare (August 2023)
The National Quality Forum has been acquired by The Joint Commission with the goal of aligning quality measures.
Regulators seek feedback about medical credit cards as potential restrictions loom | HFMA (August 2023) An RFI, released by the U.S. Departments of Treasury and Health and Human Services, along with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau seeks feedback on whether medical credit cards are a driver of medical debt.
Social Needs Screening among Non-Federal Acute Care Hospitals, 2022 | Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. Using data from the American Hospital Association's 2022 national survey Information Technology supplement, ONC describes health-related social needs collection and receipts of data and use for non-federal acute care hospitals.
Health Systems and Social Services-A Bridge Too Far? | JAMA Forum (August 2023)
It is generally accepted that the social determinants of health have an impact on health, on how long and how well we live. This article considers the role of the health systems within a multi-sector approach.
Screening for Health-Related Social Needs and Collaboration With External Partners Among US Hospitals | JAMA Network (August 2023)
Review hospital-reported data on health-related social needs and social determinants of health screening and interventions.
An Action Guide To Disrupt Inequitable Health Outcomes developed by NACCHO, The National Minority Quality Forum, Morehouse School of Medicine, The Century Foundation, and Pfizer's Multicultural Health Equity Collective (The Collective) provides action steps to improve outcomes in four key areas: Health care facilities and delivery, Workforce pathways, Research and data, and Policy.
Healthy Brain Initiative: State and Local Road Map for Public Health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Alzheimer's Association have released a 2023-2027 update. The road map provides ways to incorporate brain health into community health practices.
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)'s 2021 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (Part one, Part two). Part one is a point-in-time estimate, while Part two provides national estimates of shelter utilization.
In Case You Missed It: Featured CHA Webinar Recordings and Articles
On-Demand Webinars
See the complete CHA Calendar of Events
View recent articles from Catholic Health World and Health Progress featuring community benefit news and programs from across the ministry.
Learn More
For more information and to contact us, visit our Community Benefit page.
