About Community Benefit
Catholic and other not-for-profit health care organizations demonstrate their commitment to community service through organized and sustainable community benefit programs providing:
- Free and discounted care to those unable to afford health care
- Care to low-income beneficiaries of Medicaid and other indigent care programs
- Services designed to improve community health and increase access to health care
In the last fiscal year, Catholic-sponsored, not-for-profit member hospitals contributed more than $5.7 billion in services identified as community benefit using CHA's guidelines.
Community benefit is also the basis of the tax-exemption of not-for-profit hospitals. The Internal Revenue Service, in its Revenue Ruling 69–545, describes the community benefit standard for charitable tax-exempt hospitals.
What Are Community Benefits?
Community benefit is also the basis of the tax-exemption of not-for-profit hospitals. The Internal Revenue Service, in its Revenue Ruling 69–545, describes the community benefit standard for charitable tax-exempt hospitals.
Community benefits are programs or activities that provide treatment and/or promote health and healing as a response to identified community needs. They increase access to health care and improve community health. They are not provided for marketing purposes.
A community benefit must respond to an identified community need and meet at least one of the following criteria:
- Improve access to health care services.
- Enhance health of the community.
- Advance medical or health knowledge.
- Relieve or reduce the burden of government or other community efforts.