Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2012

Abstract

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) imposes a number of new requirements on hospitals seeking to maintain their tax-exempt status under federal law. One requirement is that hospitals must conduct a “community health needs assessment” (CHNA) at least every three years and then develop and implement a strategy to address the needs identified in the assessment. This essay explores the potential this provision may offer for identifying, understanding, and reducing health care disparities. By calling on hospitals to focus less on individuals and more on communities, the CHNA requirement may offer a valuable addition to the toolkit for combating disparities. Thinking about hospitals and CHNAs in this fashion also contributes to a growing scholarly and professional dialogue that advocates for increased support for public health approaches to health problems and urges better integration of our public health and health care systems. This essay sketches how tax-exempt hospitals’ need to satisfy the new CHNA requirement might be harnessed as a tool for addressing health disparities, as well as some factors that might stymie this potential.

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