Grassley Seeks GAO Study of Nonprofit Hospitals’ Community Benefits

WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Committee on Finance,
today asked the Government Accountability Office to study how nonprofit hospitals meet their
requirement to provide community benefits in exchange for their tax-exempt status and related tax
breaks.   

“The community benefit standard means different things to different people,” Grassley said.
“It’s loosely defined.  We need to get a better handle on how nonprofit hospitals are fulfilling their
requirement to serve the community in exchange for the generous tax breaks they receive.  This is
especially important as policymakers talk about helping the uninsured.  We need to make sure tax-
exempt hospitals are providing health care to those in need in keeping with their requirement to
serve the public.”

Grassley continues to conduct a wide-ranging review of nonprofit practices to ensure that
tax-exempt status results in public benefit.  The federal Treasury foregoes hundreds of billions of
dollars of taxes every year from nonprofit groups.

The text of Grassley’s request letter to the Government Accountability Office on nonprofit
hospitals follows here.

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