Posted on Sep 27, 2022
Montana health officials call for more oversight of nonprofit hospitals
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https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/09/27/ [login to see] /montana-nonprofit-hospitals-oversight-charity
Montana health officials are proposing to oversee and set standards for the charitable contributions that nonprofit hospitals make in their communities each year to justify their access to millions of dollars in tax exemptions.
The proposal is part of a package of legislation that the state Department of Public Health and Human Services will ask lawmakers to approve when they convene in January. It comes two years after a state audit called on the department to play more of a watchdog role and nine months after a KHN investigation found some of Montana's wealthiest hospitals lag behind state and national averages in community giving.
A call for more transparency in what counts as charity
Montana state Sen. Bob Keenan, a Republican who has questioned whether nonprofit hospitals deserve their charity status, calls the proposal a start that could be expanded on later.
"Transparency is the name of the game here," Keenan says.
Montana health officials are proposing to oversee and set standards for the charitable contributions that nonprofit hospitals make in their communities each year to justify their access to millions of dollars in tax exemptions.
The proposal is part of a package of legislation that the state Department of Public Health and Human Services will ask lawmakers to approve when they convene in January. It comes two years after a state audit called on the department to play more of a watchdog role and nine months after a KHN investigation found some of Montana's wealthiest hospitals lag behind state and national averages in community giving.
A call for more transparency in what counts as charity
Montana state Sen. Bob Keenan, a Republican who has questioned whether nonprofit hospitals deserve their charity status, calls the proposal a start that could be expanded on later.
"Transparency is the name of the game here," Keenan says.
Montana health officials call for more oversight of nonprofit hospitals
Posted from npr.org
State of Montana
Medical
Health
Charity
Taxes
Posted >1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Asked whether the health system still stands by that statement, Denise Juneau, Bozeman Health's chief government and community affairs officer, says hospital officials hope any new legislation will align with existing federal guidelines. She says Bozeman Health will continue to work with the Montana Hospital Association to define and provide better information on community benefit, with or without new legislation.
A lawmaker would have to back the state's proposal by mid-December to keep it alive."
..."Asked whether the health system still stands by that statement, Denise Juneau, Bozeman Health's chief government and community affairs officer, says hospital officials hope any new legislation will align with existing federal guidelines. She says Bozeman Health will continue to work with the Montana Hospital Association to define and provide better information on community benefit, with or without new legislation.
A lawmaker would have to back the state's proposal by mid-December to keep it alive."
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I would like to see more oversight of for profit hospitals. I heard my doctor discussing a procedure to remove my cancer that was recommended by another doctor to an intern outside the room I was in. The intern asked why they recommended that procedure if it was not necessary. He replied. "Because there is more profit in it"
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