California Hospitals Oppose "One-Size-Fits-All" Charity Care Legislation

Last week, the California Hospital Association announced its opposition to a state bill that would impose a charity care target for non-profit hospitals and health systems.

Assembly Bill 975 would require private, non-profit hospitals to provide charity care "in an amount equal to at least 8 percent of [their] operating margins" by Jan. 1, 2015. The bill comes as more state legislatures scrutinize the operations of non-profit hospitals to ensure they meet their missions to provide uncompensated care to indigent populations.

The CHA argued the bill could "devastate rural and urban hospitals that are meeting the needs of their communities through locally developed community benefit plans."

"Many of these facilities are already financially strapped as a result of governmental payment shortfalls and unfunded mandates," the CHA said in a statement. "There is no need for the state to impose yet another set of excessive regulations and restrictions on not-for-profit hospitals."

More Articles on Hospital Charity Care:

Minnesota Hospitals Provide $509M in Uncompensated Care in 2011
High Charity Care Forces Calhoun Memorial Hospital in Georgia to Shutter
South Carolina to Cover 100% of Charity Care at 19 Rural Hospitals

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