Access

Community Health Needs Assessments

  • Community health needs assessments (CHNA) and implementation strategies are newly required of tax-exempt hospitals as a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. These assessments and strategies create an important opportunity to improve the health of communities. They ensure that hospitals have the information they need to provide community benefits that meet the needs of their communities. They also provide an opportunity to improve coordination of hospital community benefits with other efforts to improve community health. By statute, the CHNAs must 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.”

  • IRS CHNA Requirements

    View Notice 2011-52, 2011 IRB 30 (July 25, 2011) addresses the CHNA requirements described in section 501(r)(3) of the Code.

    Click here for an overview of the new requirements for 501(c)(3) hospitals under the Affordable Care Act.

  • ASTHO CHNA Recommendations

    The following documents were created by ASTHO and partners in response to the IRS request for comments regarding additional requirements for tax-exempt hospitals.

  • Consensus Statement
    Consensus recommendations from ASTHO and other partners about how hospitals can most effectively work with public health experts to maximize community benefits.

  • IRS Rules on CHNA
    Letter to the IRS Commissioner regarding the Community Health Needs Assessment Consensus Recommendations.

  • CHNA Resources

  • CHNA.org - A Free Data and Reporting Resource
    CHNA.org is a state-of-the-art, FREE, web-based utility designed to assist hospitals, non-profit community-based organizations, state and local health departments, financial institutions, engaged citizens,more »

  • Fact Sheet: What are Hospital Community Benefits?
    This fact sheet created by The Hilltop Institute gives a brief overview of hospital community benefits and considerations for state and local decision-makers.

  • Community Benefit State Law Profiles
    A 50-state survey of each state’s community benefit laws and regulations analyzed in the context of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) community benefit framework. An interactive map links to each state’smore »

  • Hospital Community Benefits after the ACA: The State Law Landscape
    This issue brief from The Hilltop Institute's Hospital Community Benefit Program presents the Profiles’ findings and begins the analysis to facilitate a better understanding of each state’s communitymore »

  • Hospital Community Benefits after the ACA: Partnerships for Community Health Improvement
    This issue brief from The Hilltop Institute’s Hospital Community Benefit Program explores how several hospitals have collaborated with local community or health agencies to improve health in their communities.more »

  • Hospital Community Benefit Requirements and Primary Care Offices
    This powerpoint provides an overview of the IRS Community Benefeit requirements, discusses the impact of the CHNA initative, and concludes with implications for Primary Care Offices.