The American Hospital Association, Healthcare Financial Management Association and VHA Inc. together sent comments to the IRS regarding its revised Form 990 Schedule H, according to an AHA News Now report.
The IRS revised Schedule H in order to implement Section 501(r) requirements under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Section 501 (r) requires tax-exempt hospital to:
• Conduct a health needs assessment at least every three years (effective after March 23, 2012; hospitals that don't comply face a $50,000 fine);
• Develop a written financial assistance policy and distribute it to patients;
• Limit charges to uninsured or patients receiving financial assistance to amounts generally billed to insured patients; and
• Follow new debt collection practices limiting "extraordinary" collection practices.
In the comments, the AHA and others said it is "critically important" for Schedule H to account for the diversity of hospitals (critical access and frontier hospitals to large multi-hospital systems) that must comply with the same requirements under 501(r). They also asked the IRS to make the 501(r) section optional for tax year 2011, unless revisions are made relatively soon.
IRS Deems Section of Schedule H Optional for Hospitals for 2010
Understanding Health Reform's Tax Implications for Non-Profit Hospitals: Will My Hospital Lose Its Tax-Exempt Status?
The IRS revised Schedule H in order to implement Section 501(r) requirements under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Section 501 (r) requires tax-exempt hospital to:
• Conduct a health needs assessment at least every three years (effective after March 23, 2012; hospitals that don't comply face a $50,000 fine);
• Develop a written financial assistance policy and distribute it to patients;
• Limit charges to uninsured or patients receiving financial assistance to amounts generally billed to insured patients; and
• Follow new debt collection practices limiting "extraordinary" collection practices.
In the comments, the AHA and others said it is "critically important" for Schedule H to account for the diversity of hospitals (critical access and frontier hospitals to large multi-hospital systems) that must comply with the same requirements under 501(r). They also asked the IRS to make the 501(r) section optional for tax year 2011, unless revisions are made relatively soon.
Related Articles on IRS' Schedule H:
AHA Reopens Project Examining Schedule HIRS Deems Section of Schedule H Optional for Hospitals for 2010
Understanding Health Reform's Tax Implications for Non-Profit Hospitals: Will My Hospital Lose Its Tax-Exempt Status?