Study Finds Nonprofit Health Care is Often Better... As Congress and IRS Push Ahead with Inquiries
Reuters reported yesterday on an extensive review of studies in the journal Health Affairs, which found that "for-profit nursing homes and hospitals on average provide an inferior quality of care compared with their nonprofit peers." According to the article, a "systematic analysis of 162 studies of nonprofit versus for-profit health care providers supports the concept that a facility's ownership status makes a difference in outcomes and in the cost of health care."
These findings are particularly interesting because the Senate and House tax-writing committees and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have recently expressed great concern over the operation of nonprofit health care facilities.
Earlier this month, for example, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley sent letters to the IRS seeking “comment and in some cases stepped-up enforcement" in several tax-exempt areas. Chairman Grassley’s number one concern: nonprofit hospitals. (See previous post, "Grassley Seeks More IRS Enforcement as Nonprofit Reform Legislation Stalls.") House Ways & Means Chairman Bill Thomas meanwhile began investigating nonprofit hospitals two years ago, questioning whether they deserve tax-exempt status.
Just a few days ago, I wrote about how the IRS sent “compliance check questionnaires” to more than 550 nonprofit hospitals to determine whether they are abusing their tax-exempt status. Reportedly, the IRS will decide whether standards for nonprofit hospitals should be changed or clarified.
These findings are particularly interesting because the Senate and House tax-writing committees and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have recently expressed great concern over the operation of nonprofit health care facilities.
Earlier this month, for example, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley sent letters to the IRS seeking “comment and in some cases stepped-up enforcement" in several tax-exempt areas. Chairman Grassley’s number one concern: nonprofit hospitals. (See previous post, "Grassley Seeks More IRS Enforcement as Nonprofit Reform Legislation Stalls.") House Ways & Means Chairman Bill Thomas meanwhile began investigating nonprofit hospitals two years ago, questioning whether they deserve tax-exempt status.
Just a few days ago, I wrote about how the IRS sent “compliance check questionnaires” to more than 550 nonprofit hospitals to determine whether they are abusing their tax-exempt status. Reportedly, the IRS will decide whether standards for nonprofit hospitals should be changed or clarified.
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