[ Event ]
Duane Morris Partner Neville Bilimoria to Moderate a Health Law Symposium
April 19, 2006 | Chicago
| Chicago Bar Association
Partner Neville M. Bilimoria, Chair of the Chicago Bar Association's Health Law Committee, will moderate the Health Law Symposium: Charity Care and Not-for-Profit Status on Wednesday, April 19th, 2006. The seminar will take place at the Chicago Bar Association Offices from 3 p.m. - 6 p.m. The seminar will feature a discussion of the parameters of the new Charity Care proposal and address the legal and regulatory landscape in which the proposal is being debated.
Program Overview
While Federal Officials debate the requisite levels of charity care that a not-for-profit hospital must provide to justify its tax exempt status, state legislatures have taken steps to draw bright line rules for hospital charity care requirements. Most recently, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan proposed the Tax-Exempt Hospital Responsibility Act, which would require Illinois not-for-profit hospitals to provide a minimum percentage of free health care services in order to maintain their state tax exempt status. The Attorney General's proposal would require hospitals to spend at least 8% of their operating costs on uninsured patients who meet specific income limits.
This Charity Care proposal has aroused much discussion and debate within the Health Law community. Some argue the proposal is necessary to prevent hospitals from overcharging the poor, and to require them to finally do their "fair share" in exchange for tax-exempt status. Others contend that the Attorney General's proposal is too extreme, and would prevent hospitals, which are already saddled with millions in bad debt, from upgrading infrastructure and improving care.
Featured Speakers will include:
- Anne M. Murphy, Senior Counsel to the Attorney General, State of Chicago
- Theresa Hoban, V.P. and General Counsel, Northwest Community Hospital
- Kenneth Kaufman, Managing Partner, Kaufman Hall