Nonprofit Organizations Law Commons^™

Does Nonprofit Ownership Matter?, Jill R. Horwitz

Articles

In recent years, policymakers have increasingly questioned whether nonprofit institutions, particularly hospitals, merit tax exemption. They argue that nonprofit hospitals differ little from their for-profit counterparts in the provision of charity care and, therefore, should either lose their tax-exempt status or adhere to new, strict, and specific requirements to provide free services for the poor. In this Article, I present evidence that hospital ownership-whether it is for-profit, nonprofit, or government owned-has a significant effect on the mix of medical services it offers. Despite notoriously weak enforcement mechanisms, nonprofit hospitals act in the public interest by providing services that are unlikely …

What's Good For The Goose Is Not Good For The Gander: Sarbanes-Oxley-Style Nonprofit Reforms, Lumen N. Mulligan

Michigan Law Review

In this Article, I contend that the Sarbanes-Oxley-inspired nonprofit reforms currently being put forward in seven states, particularly the costly disclosure requirements, will be of little value in the effort to improve ethical nonprofit board governance. After providing a primer on the oversight of nonprofit organizations and highlighting the unique difficulties facing the nonprofit sector the Article reviews the recent Sarbanes-Oxley-like nonprofit reforms introduced in seven states. It then contends that the disclosure- focused reforms that form the bulwark of these initiatives will not foster improved ethical nonprofit board governance. It also argues that this failure stems from the inappropriate …

The Common Law Power Of The Legislature: Insurer Conversions And Charitable Funds, Jill R. Horwitz, Marion R. Fremont-Smith

Articles

New York's Empire Blue Ccoss and Blue Shield conversion from nonprofic cofor­ profic form has considerable legal significance. Three aspects of the conversion ma.ke checase unique: the role of the scace legislature in directing the disposicion of the conversion assets, che face chac it made itself che primary beneficiary of chose assets, and the actions of che scace attorney general defending the state rather than che public inceresc in che charitable assets. Drawing on several cenruries of common Law rejecting the Legislacive power to direct the disposition of charitable funds, chis article argues chat the legislature lacked power cocontrol che …

Do Different Types Of Hospitals Act Differently?, Jill R. Horwitz

Other Publications

This essay is based on testimony delivered before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means on May 26, 2005.

Gifts, Gafts And Gefts: The Income Tax Definition And Treatment Of Private And Charitable 'Gifts' And A Principled Policy Justification For The Exclusion Of Gifts From Income, Douglas A. Kahn, Jeffrey H. Kahn

Articles

Gifts have been given special treatment by the income tax laws since the first post-16th Amendment tax statute was adopted in 1913. The determination of how the income tax law should treat gifts raises a number of issues. For example: should gifts be given special treatment? If so, what should qualify as a gift? Should gifts to a private party be taxable to the donee? Should gifts to a private party be deductible by the donor? Should the donee's basis in a gift of property be determined by reference to the basis that the donor had, and should any modifications …

Why We Need The Independent Sector: The Behavior, Law, And Ethics Of Not-For-Profit Hospitals, Jill R. Horwitz

Articles

Among the major forms of corporate ownership, the not-for-profit ownership form is distinct in its behavior, legal constraints, and moral obligations. A new empirical analysis of the American hospital industry, using eleven years of data for all urban general hospitals in the country, shows that corporate form accounts for large differences in the provision of specific medical services. Not-for-profit hospitals systematically provide both private and public goods that are in the public interest, and that other forms fail to provide. Two hypotheses are proposed to account for the findings, one legal and one moral. While no causal claims are made, …

Targeting Exemption For Charitable Efficiency: Designing A Nondiversion Constraint, Frances R. Hill

Articles

No abstract provided.

Financing Public Health Through Nonprofit Conversion Foundations, Christopher W. Frost

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Nonprofit Hospital Mergers And Section 7 Of The Clayton Act: Closing An Antitrust Loophole, Laura L. Stephens

Faculty Scholarship

Nonprofit hospitals developed out of the charitable hospital movement, which began in the mid-nineteenth century.' The early voluntary hospitals depended upon local benefactors for financing.² Originally conceived as charitable institutions providing long-term care, these hospitals began to change their focus around the turn of the century.³ A changed mission-providing care to all rather than just poor inpatients with chronic problems-required the latest medical technology.⁴ This in turn demanded increased construction of up-to-date facilities, as well as large operating expenses.

Recent years have seen further pressure on hospital budgets, as the health-care sector of the economy has become …

Freedom Of Association After Roberts V. United States Jaycees, Douglas O. Linder

Michigan Law Review

The decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Roberts v. United States Jaycees, upholding a Minnesota ruling which requires the Minnesota Jaycees to admit women as full members, ended one controversy but marked only the beginning of a far larger one. It was predicted by many that U.S. Jaycees would answer the question of whether private associations with restrictive membership policies were vulnerable to state anti-discrimination laws or were constitutionally protected. It did not. Instead, while rejecting the Jaycees' constitutional claims, the Court established a comprehensive framework for analyzing future claims of associational freedom that contains a number of …

Irs Denials Of Charitable Status: A Social Welfare Organization Problem, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note argues that the courts and the Service should recognize social welfare organizations as charitable and, consequently, contributions to such organizations should be tax deductible. Part I describes the Service's position and sets forth the statutory arguments supporting it. Part II raises two objections to the Service's position: (1) the distinction between social welfare organizations and charitable organizations lacks an adequate statutory justification, and (2) this distinction produces unpredictable and arbitrary results. Part III proposes that all social welfare organizations be accorded charitable status under subsection 50l(c)(3). This proposal would eliminate the arbitrary results now reached by the Service, …

The Nonprofit Health Care Corporation Reform Act Of 1980, David L. Hollister, Patience A. Drake

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

In recent years, Blue Cross/Blue Shield has been the subject of considerable controversy. Its critics charge the non-profit, tax-exempt corporation with being unduly secretive, arrogantly unresponsive to consumer interest and not vigorous in its cost containment efforts. These criticisms, along with a variety of other factors, led to the legislative reform I am here to talk to you about this evening.

Discriminatory Membership Policies In Federally Chartered Nonprofit Corporations, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Since 1791 the United States has created federal corporations by specific acts of Congress. These corporations fall into three general types, including corporations organized in the District of Columbia, corporations that carry out a federal governmental or public function, and private nonprofit corporations that undertake educational, charitable, historical, cultural or similar purposes. About fifty groups comprise the third category, including the American National Red Cross, the Girl Scouts of America, the Boy Scouts of America, the United States Olympic Committee, the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (VFW), and the Little League.

Recently, the discriminatory …

Nonprofit Corporation Statutes: A Critique And Proposal, Ralph E. Boyer

Michigan Legal Studies Series

The nonprofit corporation has become an important factor in the social and economic life of the American people. The American predisposition to organization and affiliation has led to an enormous number of such organizations, which in itself is a significant factor. Further, many nonprofit corporations have become national and international entities yielding tremendous economic and political influence. In spite of these factors, however, these organizations have largely escaped the serious study and academic analysis so generously bestowed upon the regular business corporation. This study is directed at an analysis of the legal framework within which such organizations operate. Its aim …

Damage Liability Of Charitable Institutions, Carl Zollman

Michigan Law Review

The question of the liability of charitable institutions to actions for damages presents great difficulties. This is not due how- -ever to a lack of cases. The question has peculiarly "engaged the attention of the bench and bar of the country. The problem has been scrutinized from every conceivable viewpoint. The arguments for and against have well nigh been exhausted, and little, if anything, new remains to be advanced".' In their opinions the courts have frequently gone back to certain English cases disregarding the points decided but stressing certain dicta which have been uttered by the judges which decided them. …