Several national hospital groups responded last week to an Internal Revenue Service request to provide evidence that housing should be counted as a "Community Benefit" activity in Part I of Schedule H.
Schedule H is a form used by tax-exempt hospitals to provide information to the IRS on the community benefit provided by hospital and nonhospital healthcare facilities.
In the letter, the American Hospital Association, the Catholic Health Association of the United States and the Association of American Medical Colleges argue that "healthcare is no longer being provided only within the four walls of hospital buildings," and that housing is a social determinant of health.
The organizations attached a list of studies and a summary of research supporting their views.
"These resources strongly support our position that housing, an essential component of the infrastructure needed to promote and sustain good health, should be counted as a Community Benefit activity in Part I when undertaken by tax-exempt hospitals," the letter reads. "This research also confirms that many other government agencies, including the CDC, [Department of Housing and Urban Development, Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Agriculture], view access to safe housing as an important contributor to the health of American families."
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