Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Holding Hospitals Accountable? Evidence On The Effectiveness Of Minimum Charity Care Provision Laws, Michah W. Rothbart, Nara Yoon

Center for Policy Research

What can governments do to encourage nonprofit hospitals to provide greater benefits to their communities? Recent efforts by the federal and state governments seek to hold hospitals accountable for community health, in part by incentivizing charity care provision. Laws that set benchmarks for charity care spending are increasingly used, but their efficacy is uncertain. In this study, we examine the extent to which Illinois’ minimum charity care provision (MCCP) law increases nonprofit hospital charity care. Importantly, we differentiate between responses for hospitals required to provide minimal charitable spending (nonprofits) and those that are not (for-profit and public). We use detailed …