October 16, 2006

The Honorable Charles E. Grassley, Chairman
Senate Finance Committee
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510-6200

Dear Senator Grassley:

I am writing to you on behalf of the Maine Hospital Association. We are concerned about statements made during your recent hearing on not-for-profit hospitals suggesting certain changes to the community benefit standard. We support the current standard and believe that any concerns about it could best be addressed by uniform public reporting that reflects the full value of the benefits that not-for-profit hospitals bring to their communities, including shouldering the burden of bad debt, addressing the gaps created by Medicare and Medicaid underpayments, and subsidizing access to various healthcare services such as physicians, long-term care, and home health.

Not-for-profit hospitals are irreplaceable in our communities. They are governed by a board of directors drawn from the community and provide other significant benefits. This includes charity care and financial assistance for the poor and services and programs available to everyone in the community, such as immunizations, cancer screenings and health education and promotion, to name a few.

The genius of the current community benefit standard is that it allows each not-for-profit hospital to gauge the particular needs of its community and respond to those needs with the right mix of services and programs. That is why we support the current community benefit standard.

We also support uniform public reporting of community benefit. But, such reporting should include the cost of charity care, underpayments from public programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, bad debt and the cost of services and programs provided to the community. Our hospitals are required to submit financial data to a state data organization as well as file their tax returns with the Department of Health & Human Services. Such comprehensive reporting provides important information for policymakers and members of the community about both the costs borne by the hospital in caring for the entire community and the cost of services and programs that the hospital provides to the community to address specific needs, such as health promotion programs for the elderly.

Sincerely,

Steven R. Michaud
President

cc: Senator Snowe
Senator Collins

October 16, 2006

The Honorable Olympia Snowe
United States Senator
154 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-1903

Dear Senator Snowe:

I wanted you to be aware of the letter the Maine Hospital Association sent to Senator Charles Grassley supporting the current community benefit standard applicable to not-for-profit hospitals and public reporting of all the benefits that those same hospitals provide to their communities. This issue is important to the Maine not-for-profit hospitals. We hope that you will support our efforts to allow hospitals to continue determining what mix of benefits are most appropriate for their community and to assure that public reporting of those benefits counts all the costs to and contributions from hospitals to their communities, including shouldering the burden of bad debt, addressing the gaps created by Medicare and Medicaid underpayments, and preserving access to critical healthcare services such as physicians, long term care, and home health services.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

Steven R. Michaud
President

October 16, 2006

The Honorable Susan Collins
United States Senator
461 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Collins:

I wanted you to be aware of the letter the Maine Hospital Association sent to Senator Charles Grassley supporting the current community benefit standard applicable to not-for-profit hospitals and public reporting of all the benefits that those same hospitals provide to their communities. This issue is important to the Maine not-for-profit hospitals. We hope that you will support our efforts to allow hospitals to continue determining what mix of benefits are most appropriate for their community and to assure that public reporting of those benefits counts all the costs to and contributions from hospitals to their communities, including shouldering the burden of bad debt, addressing the gaps created by Medicare and Medicaid underpayments, and preserving access to critical healthcare services such as physicians, long term care, and home health services.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

Steven R. Michaud
President

Shaping the Future of Health Care
33 Fuller Road • Augusta, Maine • 04330 • tel 207-622-4794 • fax 207-622-3073