Charity Care Characteristics and Expenditures Among US Tax-Exempt Hospitals in 2016
| Autor: | Amber Flanigan, Allan S. Brett, Janice C. Probst, Christopher W Goodman |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
congenital
hereditary and neonatal diseases and abnormalities MEDLINE Uncompensated Care Tax Exemption 03 medical and health sciences Health care Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Humans AJPH Policy Restrictiveness neoplasms Poverty health care economics and organizations Service (business) 030505 public health Actuarial science business.industry Hospitals Public Medicaid 030503 health policy & services Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health Equity (finance) Tax exemption digestive system diseases United States Policy 0305 other medical science business Hospitals Voluntary |
| Zdroj: | Am J Public Health |
| Popis: | Objectives. To examine content of financial assistance polices (FAPs) among US tax-exempt hospitals and determine whether restrictive policies were associated with reduced charity care spending. Methods. Using hospital tax filings with the Internal Revenue Service in 2016 and FAPs obtained from hospital Web sites, we examined characteristics of FAPs and associated expenditures for charity care in a representative sample of 170 tax-exempt hospitals. We identified common eligibility requirements and used them to define restrictiveness of FAPs. Results. FAPs were characterized by various ways to exclude patients, a patchwork of coverage for typical health care services, and wide-ranging discounts. FAP expenditures were lowest among restrictive hospitals in states that expanded Medicaid as part of the Affordable Care Act and highest among nonrestrictive hospitals in nonexpansion states. FAP expenses did not differ by hospital restrictiveness alone. Conclusions. Standardizing common eligibility requirements among FAPs carries potential benefits with regard to optimizing charity care for community benefit and achieving at least some level of equity; however, further policy efforts must account for additional restrictions, charges, and exclusions to be effective. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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