Sen. Grassley Asks American Hospital Association To Take 'More Active' Role In Not-for-Profit Hospital Legislation

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 16 Mar 2006 - 14:00 PDT

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Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) in recent letter praised the American Hospital Association for a decision to "show leadership" on an effort to draft legislation to improve care provided by not-for-profit hospitals but asked the group to "take a more active and serious role in this discussion," CQ HealthBeat, reports. In the letter, dated March 8, Grassley listed three legislative proposals offered by AHA, as well as questions about the plans. Under one proposal, not-for-profit hospitals would have to "provide discounts to all uninsured individuals of limited means and then make that discount publicly available." In response, Grassley asked how AHA would calculate the discounts, define individuals of "limited means" and determine whether "those in financial straits because of a catastrophic illness should be included." A second proposal would require not-for-profit hospitals to implement a common definition of the "community benefit" they provide and disclose the amount of the benefit. In response, Grassley asked how AHA would calculate the community benefit. A third proposal includes provisions for "strengthening transparency, governance and accountability of charitable organizations," and Grassley requested more details. Grassley said that the proposals are important but added that he has concerns about other practices of not-for-profit hospitals, such as billing and collections and executive compensation (Reichard, CQ HealthBeat, 3/10).

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