Chuck Grassley, Senate Finance Committee Chairman, is acting to make sure tax-exempt hospitals are following the legal mandates that require them to fulfill the standards for serving communities and low-income patients.
In a letter to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, Grassley requested compliance data that would show how many hospitals are following the standard along with the status of IRS examinations of those that are non-compliant. Specifically, Grassley is seeking information about whether tax-exempt hospitals are meeting the statutory requirements laid out in section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code.
“Unfortunately, according to reports, it appears that at least some of these tax-exempt hospitals have cut charity care, despite increased revenue, calling into question their compliance with the standards set by congress,” Grassley wrote.
In February 2018, Grassley and then-Chairman Orrin Hatch of Utah also pressed the IRS for information on enforcement practices and compliance data on non-profit hospitals. In an oversight inquiry into Mosaic Life Care the billing and debt collection practices of the facility were examined after news reports indicated it had sued low-income patients that should have qualified for charity care.
A full text of Grassley’s letter can be found HERE.
