ABSTRACT
Not-for-profit health systems are under the public microscope. Sen. Charles Grassley, (D-Iowa) chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has been critical of the charity care and billing practices of not-for-profit health systems, and vows to introduce legislation to correct abuses throughout the tax-exempt sector. The House has studied the issue as well. Not-for-profit health systems also have been accused in hundreds of lawsuits of overcharging uninsured patients and aggressively pursuing debt collection. In this installment of Straight Talk, we explore the issues surrounding tax-exempt status and how health systems should publicize their charitable work. Modern Healthcare and PricewaterhouseCoopers present Straight Talk. The session on charity care and tax-exempt status was held on October 4, 2005 at Modern Healthcare's Chicago headquarters. Fawn Lopez, publisher of Modern Healthcare, was the moderator.
