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The AHA April 16 responded to the Lown Institute's on hospital community benefits.

In a statement shared with media, AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack said, “Every day, all of America’s hospitals and health systems demonstrate their commitment to patients and the pursuit of advancing health. Consistent with this mission, nonprofit hospitals take their accountability for the federal tax exemption they receive very seriously. The benefits these hospitals provide include a broad range of activities chosen based on community input about community need. And these activities are publicly reported every year. Yet some organizations continue to distort and diminish the value of these activities.

“The truth is reports like today’s from Lown that focus on nonprofit hospitals serve as distractions. These reports often rely on methodology that directly omits essential information, data and other factors that can seriously skew results, allowing them to apply an arbitrary ‘fair share’ threshold that is anything but ‘fair.’ This undermines genuine efforts to improve health care access for millions of patients. What is clear and consistent is this: Nonprofit hospitals deliver significant community benefits, far exceeding their tax exemptions.”

The AHA and Catholic Health Association of the United States recently released a report on the value of benefits nonprofit hospitals and health systems provide for their communities.