IRS Plans Hospital Charity Care Guidance Amid Auditing Push

The IRS plans to use insights from its audits into nonprofit hospitals to update guidance on patient financial assistance requirements.

The IRS has said it intended to open 35 audits into nonprofit hospitals in 2024. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have pushed the agency to increase oversight of nonprofit hospitals because of concerns they are abusing their tax-exempt status by not providing enough charity care.

Amber MacKenzie, an attorney adviser at the Treasury Department, said the agency decided to put out additional guidance on financial assistance policies because of reports that hospitals were emphasizing financing options to patients ...