Community Benefit Resources

Understanding What Counts and Does Not Count as Community Benefit

The guiding principle in determining a community benefit is that the activity or program responds to and identified community health need and is not provided primarily for organizational benefit. Community benefit is a well-defined set of activities articulated by the Internal Revenue Service in its instructions to its Form 990 Schedule H.

Community Benefit Categories Quick Reference Guide

What Counts

A program or activity that responds to a demonstrated health-related community need and seeks to acheive at least one community benefit objective:

Improve access to health services
Enhance public health
Advance knowledge through education or research
Relieve or reduce a health burden of government or other tax-exempt organization

What Does NOT Count

Benefits the organization more thna the community,
Provided primarily for marketing purposes,
Provided by another entity or individual,
Restricted to employees or medical staff,
Represents a normal "cost of doing business" or the current standard of care.

Community Benefit - CHA Guide Incorporates Equity into All Aspects of Community Benefit

To learn more:

What counts as community benefit accounting, please visit:
- What Counts as Community Benefit, and
- What Counts Q&A Library
Accounting and Reporting community benefit, please visit Accounting for Community Benefit on CHA's website.

Order a copy of the Guide

Resources

A Guide to Planning & Reporting Community Benefit Resources

Community Benefit Categories and Definitions - 2022
Social Accountability and the Long-Term Care Continuum — Definitions of Community Benefit Services for Homes and Services for the Aging are at the end of this document.

CHA Resources

What Counts Resource, Catholic Health Association website.
What Counts Q&A, Catholic Health Association website. Questions from the field about what counts as community benefit and link to the What Counts Email Hotline.

The following resources address reporting questions that have been raised around specific issues:

Other Resources

"Valuation and Financial Statement Presentation of Charity Care, Implicit Price Concessions and Bad Debts by Institutional Healthcare Providers:" Principles and Practices Board Statement 15 | HFMA

The following resources address reporting questions that have been raised around specific issues:

Community Benefit Resources

Understanding What Counts and Does Not Count as Community Benefit

What Counts

What Does NOT Count

Resources

DC OFFICE

ST. LOUIS OFFICE

We Will Empower Bold Change to Elevate Human Flourishing^SM

Log in

Community Benefit Resources

Understanding What Counts and Does Not Count as Community Benefit

What Counts

What Does NOT Count

Resources

DC OFFICE

ST. LOUIS OFFICE

We Will Empower Bold Change to Elevate Human FlourishingSM

We Will Empower Bold Change to Elevate Human Flourishing^SM