“The Affordable Care Act added a new section to the Internal Revenue Code called Section 501(r), which sets forth the additional requirements that tax-exempt hospitals have to meet. Many of the 501(r) requirements are really process requirements. You must conduct a community health needs assessment. You must have a financial assistance policy. You must make […]
Blog submission by Jeffrey Bauer, Ph.D., an independent consultant and speaker based in Chicago. Years ago I defined strategic planning as a purposeful response to anticipated change, consistent with mission and values. My colleagues excelled at teaching mission and values, so I decided to specialize in anticipating change and preparing for it. I’ve subsequently […]
The uncertainty in the minds of some donors about what is coming next is creating a pause. (William McGinly, Ph.D., Association for Healthcare Philanthropy) We know that the Supreme Court decision on healthcare reform did not eliminate uncertainty about our system of healthcare. We know we need to cut costs further. We need to […]
The IRS will continue to monitor governance and tax-exempt organizations, and now has the data to support its work, according to a recent Practice Group update from the American Health Lawyers Association. The context for this announcement revolves around the IRS’ increased efforts nearly three years ago to monitor governance and compliance with its […]
iProtean—Mission & Strategy As strategists, the vital skills for the board are: ask, listen, assess. (Punit Renjen, Board Chair, Deliotte LLP, “Exceptional Boards,” Leadership Excellence, March 2012) Boards play vital roles for the organization and must work as a team with management to direct the organization to long-term success. It begins with board […]
Hospital executives are in high gear preparing their organizations for the implementation of the structural components of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—accountable care organizations, bundled payments, medical homes and more. For example, some hospitals are preparing applications for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation’s Bundled Payment for Care Improvement, and those applications are due […]
Hospitals have done relatively well in managing board-level conflicts of interest in the last several years, both as a matter of internal necessity and because of increasing demands from the IRS. In today’s environment, however, new questions concerning “constituent” interests have surfaced. “Constituent” interests refer to situations when individuals elected to a joint venture […]
Whatever the market and financial conditions of your hospital, the quickly evolving healthcare environment dictates a robust assessment of its future direction, including strategic collaborations. AHLA and HFMA recently noted in a jointly sponsored webinar on mergers & acquisitions that “Healthcare reform and other macro economic factors are pushing more providers to integrate both vertically […]