Charity Care: A Discussion on Tax-Exempt Hospitals

This episode was originally released on October 9, 2023 | In this episode of Holland & Knight's “Counsel That Cares" podcast, tax attorney Don Stuart and Public Policy & Regulation attorney Chris Armstrong discuss the criteria that grant hospitals tax-exempt status, including several newly adopted standards impacting the industry. Their conversation provides insight on a bipartisan letter recently authored by a group of senators and sent to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) citing concerns that some not-for-profit hospitals may be failing to fulfill their required obligations to maintain tax-exempt status. Using Congress’s interest in this topic as a starting point, the group shifts into a larger discussion about increased oversight of tax-exempt hospitals. They also highlight previous Congressional efforts to oversee tax-exempt hospitals, including a number of investigations and inquiries into various industry practices, explaining how those findings resulted in additional regulations. They conclude this episode by sharing advice for hospitals and hospital systems to consider in order to remain compliant with tax-exemption requirements and avoid a potential government inquiry.