Latest proposed laws and an government order in Indiana would introduce new necessities for nonprofit hospitals and replace the statutory definition of “neighborhood advantages” for hospitals.
On January 21, 2025, Indiana Governor Mike Braun issued an government order directing the state Secretary of Well being and Household Companies to conduct an investigation and put together a report analyzing the quantity of charity care rendered by every nonprofit hospital in Indiana and evaluating it to the “tax-exempt advantages loved” by nonprofit hospitals within the state (“Govt Order”). The report can be directed to research “any practices of nonprofit hospitals working within the State of Indiana that let such hospitals to keep away from offering charity care to the actually needy of their neighborhood.”
The said purpose of the Govt Order is to find out the State Division of Well being’s authority to challenge administrative guidelines or to in any other case “recommend statutory adjustments” that might require every nonprofit hospital working in Indiana to “confirm that their hospital or hospital system offered extra charity care in a given tax 12 months than the worth of tax exemptions acquired.”
On the identical day, a invoice was launched within the Indiana Home of Representatives that might require “nonprofit hospitals” (as outlined within the statute) to report yearly on combination gadgets and providers billed and to offer a comparability of these fees with their “respective Medicare reimbursement charges.” (the “Invoice”). If the hospital fees an quantity for an merchandise or service that exceeds 200% of the Medicare reimbursement price, the hospital “forfeits its standing as a nonprofit hospital.” The Invoice would additionally revise the definition of “neighborhood advantages” such that nonprofit hospitals may solely embody, inside such definition, providers remaining unpaid after 180 days the place the nonprofit hospital “acquired lower than the Medicaid reimbursement price for the service.”
A listening to of the Home Public Well being Committee was held on January 28, 2025, which noticed testimony from the Division of Well being and Household Companies in addition to the Indiana Hospital Affiliation.
Corridor Render will proceed monitoring this challenge on behalf of its nonprofit hospital purchasers in Indiana. You probably have any questions or would love extra info on this subject, please contact:
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