The following Q&As and Community Benefit Categories and Definitions are two resources that can help you determine whether to report a program or activity as community benefit. If you still have questions after reviewing these resources submit them to CHA using the What Counts Email Hotline Submission Form.

New! What Counts as Community Benefit Q&A Search

1. Financial Assistance
   Topic: Discounts (June 2011; Updated November 2015)
   Topic: Financial Assistance Policies (Updated March 2013; Updated November 2015)
   Topic: Foundation Payments for Charity Care Patients (August 2009; Updated November 2015)
   Topic: Free Care for Priests in the Diocese (January 2011)
   Topic: Free Care Vouchers to Low-Income School Districts (August 2009; Updated November 2015)
   Topic: International Patients (January 2008; Updated November 2015)

1. Government-Sponsored Means Tested Health Care
   Topic: Can Medicaid denials be included in financial assistance policies? (January 2019)
   Topic: High Risk Pools (2007)
   Topic: Losses on CHAMPUS/TRICARE (May 2012)
   Topic: Medicaid Losses (December 2009)
   Topic: Medicaid Revenues Greater than Expenses (April 2011; Updated November 2015)
   Topic: Medicare Losses (2007)
   Topic: Medicare Revenues (June 2012; Updated November 2015)
   Topic: Provider Taxes (April 2009)
   Topic: Sales Tax (2007)
   Topic: Uncompensated Care Pools (January 2008)

1. Community Benefit Services
   1. Community Health Improvement Services
      
      Community Health Education
      Topic: Addressing Hospital Industry Hazards and Injuries (August 2009)
      Topic: Advanced Directives (October 2008; Updated November 2015)
      Topic: Community Awareness/Education (June 2012)
      Topic: Community Health Resource Center (February 2011)
      Topic: Competition to Increase Awareness of Mental Illness (August 2009)
      Topic: Health Fairs/Screenings (2007; Updated November 2015)
      Topic: Hospital Website Provides Public Health Information (August 2009)
      Topic: Is it Marketing? (April 2009)
      Topic: Lactation Services (Updated September 2016)
      Topic: Media Outreach Programs (Updated June 2012; Updated November 2015)
      Topic: Program T-shirts and Accessories (December 2014)
      Topic: Support Groups (Updated November 2015)
      
      Community-Based Clinical Services
      Topic: Community Immunization (November 2020)
      Topic: COVID-19 Vaccinations (February 2021)
      Topic: Employee Health Promotion (November 2020)
      Topic: Employer Screenings (November 2008)
      Topic: Fast Track Clinic Expenses (August 2009)
      Topic: Health Promotion for Long-Term Care Residents (April 2009)
      Topic: Immunizations for Patients (August 2009)
      Topic: Treating Opioid Addiction (August 2019)
      
      Health Care Support Services
      Topic: Applying for Guardianship (July 2020)
      Topic: Baby Supplies for New Mothers (January 2011)
      Topic: Bereavement Support Remembrance Services (June 2012)
      Topic: Catholic Mass Open to Community (January 2009)
      Topic: Connecting Patients to Community Resources (e.g. Health Leads) (May 2018)
      Topic: Enrollment Assistance (Updated December 2014)
      Topic: Genetic Counseling (November 2015)
      Topic: Interpreter (oral)/Translation (written) Services (May 2019)
      Topic: Lifeline Services (January 2009)
      Topic: Nurse Navigators (November 2015)
      Topic: PACE Housing (Updated November 2015)
      Topic: Pastoral Care Programs (August 2009)
      Topic: Paying Expenses on Behalf of Individuals (Updated November 2015)
      Topic: Paying for Care in Outside Facility (Updated November 2015)
      Topic: Paying for Low-Income Patient Burial Costs (Updated November 2015)
      Topic: Post Discharge/Care Management Services for Hospital's Low-Income Patients (Updated November 2015)
      Topic: Providing Access to Post-Acute Care for Homeless and Uninsured (March 2019)
      Topic: Residential Facilities for Patients and Families (July 2013)
      Topic: Transportation (2007)
      Topic: Transporting Breast Milk (June 2012)
      
      Social and Environmental Improvement Activities
      Topic: Community Benefit or Community Building Activity (November 2015)
      Topic: Community-wide Quality Improvement/Care Coordination Efforts (March 2013)
      Topic: Educating Hospitals About Successful Environmental Practices (August 2009)
      Topic: Food Policy/Leadership Councils (August 2013)
      Topic: Physician Recruitment (March 2013; Updated November 2015)
      Topic: Providing Place for Exercise/Play (March 2016)
      Topic: Sustainable Farming (March 2013)

1. Health Professional Education
   Topic: Allied Health Professions (Updated August 2013)
   Topic: Can we always report the cost of health professional education? (April 2019)
   Topic: Clinical Pastoral Education (January 2011)
   Topic: Grand Rounds (December 2014)
   Topic: Housing Costs (March 2013)
   Topic: Interns (Non-Physician) (April 2019)
   Topic: Libraries (February 2011)
   Topic: Long-Term Care Administrator Internships (February 2011)
   Topic: Nursing Schools (February 2011)
   Topic: Physician Education/CME programs (February 2011)
   Topic: Physician Residents/Student Time (February 2011)
   Topic: Physician Time in Health Profession Education (June 2012)
   Topic: Scholarships (2007)
   Topic: Time Working with Health Professions Students (Updated July 2016)
   Topic: Tuition Assistance (February 2011)

1. Subsidized Health Services
   Topic: Emergency Services (February 2010; Updated November 2015)
   Topic: Ground Ambulance Service
   Topic: Hospice (February 2008)
   Topic: Hospital Departments (February 2010; Updated November 2015)
   Topic: Hospital Losing Money (April 2009; Updated November 2015)
   Topic: Mammograms (February 2010)
   Topic: Medical Practices (February 2010)
   Topic: Morgue Services (April 2019)
   Topic: Organ Harvesting (May 2009; Updated November 2015)
   Topic: PACE (December 2014)
   Topic: Palliative Care (January 2008)
   Topic: Paying Physicians to be On-Call
   Topic: Paying Physicians to Serve Low Income/Uninsured (Updated June 2012)
   Topic: Services for Veterans (February 2010; Updated November 2015)
   Topic: Specialty Hospital Services (April 2009)
   Topic: Telehealth Services (2007)
   Topic: Telemonitoring (May 2008)
   Topic: What Qualifies as a Subsidized Service?

1. Research
   Topic: Institutional Review Boards (February 2011; Updated November 2015)
   Topic: Physician Research Presentations (February 2011)
   Topic: Quality Assurance or Research (February 2011;  Updated November 2015)
   Topic: Reporting Costs of Clinical Trials (April 2019)
   Topic: Reporting Research Costs When Results Not Published (April 2019)
   Topic: Reporting Research Partially Funded by For-Profit (April 2019)
   Topic: Reporting Research that is Fully Funded (April 2019)

1. Cash Donations and In-Kind Contributions
   Topic: After Prom Donations (January 2009)
   Topic: Ambulance Service (February 2010)
   Topic: Attending Meetings (April 2009)
   Topic: Blood Drives (July 2014)
   Topic: Breast Milk Bank (October 2019)
   Topic: Community Benefit or Community Building Donations (April 2009; Updated November 2015)
   Topic: Contribution for Fireworks Display (May 2010)
   Topic: Contribution for School Movement Program (August 2019)
   Topic: Contributions to Statewide Nonprofit Insurance Organization (November 2013)
   Topic: Donated Equipment/Supplies — Locally & Globally (2009; Updated March 2018)
   Topic: Donated Food (2007)
   Topic: Donated Hospital Services — Lab, Radiology, Pharmacy (2007; Updated November 2015)
   Topic: Donated Space (2007)
   Topic: Donations on Behalf of Employees (May 2018)
   Topic: Donation to Endowment Fund for School for the Deaf (May 2010)
   Topic: Donations to Employees (February 2008)
   Topic: Electronic Health Records (2012; Updated November 2015)
   Topic: Employee and Physician Time (2007; Updated November 2015)
   Topic: Employee Participation in Professional Organizations (May 2012)
   Topic: Employee Time and Fund-Raising Costs (April 2009)
   Topic: Foreign Poverty Tours/Medical Missions (September 2012)
   Topic: Free Telemedicine Services to Community Hospitals (January 2011)
   Topic: Fundraising and Sponsorship Events (October 2008; Revised November 2008; Revised January 2011; Revised February 2014; Updated August 2021)
   Topic: Funds and Services Donated by One Organization to Another (2007)
   Topic: Funds Raised by Hospital Auxiliary Groups (2007; Updated November 2015)
   Topic: Hospital Volunteers' Time (2007)
   Topic: Letters Restricting Donations (2007; Updated November 2015)
   Topic: Medical Respite Program (August 2009)
   Topic: Parking (2011)
   Topic: PILOTS/SILOTS (2007)
   Topic: Scholarships for Health Professions Education (August 2013)
   Topic: Scholarships for Pediatric Cancer Survivors (April 2011)
   Topic: School and Team Sports (December 2009)
   Topic: Voter Registration Education (June 2012)

1. Community Building Activities
   Topic: Advocacy (February 2010)
   Topic: Chamber of Commerce (May 2009;  Updated November 2015)
   Topic: Child Day Care (2007)
   Topic: Coronavirus Planning and Preparations (March 2020)
   Topic: Disaster Preparedness (Updated April 2015;  Updated November 2015)
   Topic: Ebola Planning and Preparations (December 2014)
   Topic: Green Purchasing (October 2008)
   Topic: Hiring and Training Handicapped Workers (April 2011)
   Topic: Income Tax Assistance Program (May 2010)
   Topic: Literacy Program (August 2010)
   Topic: Physician Recruitment (Updated March 2013;  Updated March 2018)
   Topic: Recruiting for Clinical Laboratory Personnel (April 2009;  Updated November 2015)
   Topic: Socially Responsible Investing (October 2008; Updated November 2015)
   Topic: Workforce Development – Shadowing (August 2015; Updated November 2015)

1. Community Benefit Operations
   Topic: Attending Workshops (January 2008)
   Topic: Community Benefit Report (May 2010;  Updated November 2015)
   Topic: Community Health Needs Assessment (Updated November 2013)
   Topic: Grant Applications (October 2008)
   Topic: IT Initiatives Supporting Community Benefit (January 2009)
   Topic: Reporting Costs of Program Evaluation (April 2019)

1. General Questions
   Topic: Approach to Indirect Costs (2007)
   Topic: Capital Costs (March 2019)
   Topic: Changing Target Populations of Current Community Benefit Programs (June 2014)
   Topic: Counting Persons Served (April 2009;  Updated November 2015)
   Topic: IT Costs (October 2008)
   Topic: Joint Ventures and For-Profit Entities
   Topic: Lost Revenue (January 2008)
   Topic: Reporting Programs with No Expenses (November 2015)
   Topic: Reporting Restricted Grants (June 2014)
   Topic: Reporting Telemedicine/Telehealth Programs and Activities (January 2015)
   Topic: Splitting Costs between Community Benefit and Marketing (February 2008)
   Topic: Timing of CHNA to be Reported on Schedule H (March 2018)

Please Take Note: The information provided above does not constitute legal or tax advice. The material is provided for informational/educational purposes only. Please consult with counsel regarding your organization's particular circumstances.