Section 2. COMMUNITY HEALTH

NEEDS ASSESSMENT

Section 501(r)(3) requires a hospital organization to conduct a community health needs assessment (CHNA) every three years and adopt an implementation strategy to meet the community health needs identified through such assessment. The CHNA must (1) take into account input from persons who represent the broad interests of the community served by the hospital facility, including those with special knowledge of or expertise in public health and (2) be made widely available to the public. Section 501(r)(3)(B).

The Joint Committee on Taxation’s Technical Explanation of the Affordable Care Act (Technical Explanation) states that the CHNA “may be based on current information collected by a public health agency or non-profit organizations and may be conducted together with one or more organizations, including related organizations.” Joint Committee on Taxation, Technical Explanation of the Revenue Provisions of the “Reconciliation Act of 2010,” as amended, in combination with the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” (JCX–18–10), at 81, March 21, 2010. Section 6033(b)(15)(A) requires hospital organizations to include in their annual information return ( i.e., Form 990) a description of how the organization is addressing the needs identified in each CHNA conducted under section 501(r)(3) and a description of any needs that are not being addressed, along with the reasons why the needs are not being addressed.

Section 4959 imposes a $50,000 excise tax on a hospital organization that fails to meet the CHNA requirements of section 501(r)(3). Section 6033(b)(10), as amended, requires hospital organizations to report the amount of the excise tax imposed on the organization under section 4959.