Undefined Standards Lead to Variance in Community-Benefits Reporting by Non-Profit Hospitals

OPEN MINDS On-Line News Strategic Health Care News Non-profit hospitals report varying amounts of community benefit and charity care because state and federal standards do not reach consensus in defining whether bad debt and unreimbursed costs of care for Medicare beneficiaries can be counted as community benefit. Differences exist in reporting requirements between the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The IRS Schedule H requires that community benefit be reported by employer identification number (EIN), which can cover many facilities; in Worksheet S-10 CMS requires that individual hospitals report community . . .