Community Benefit Reporting

This week MHA met with members of the Legislative Audit Committee to share the work of the association’s Community Benefit Task Force.  The goal of the meeting was to educate lawmakers on the extensive work done by the membership to ensure hospitals of all sizes report community benefits in the same manner.

The work done by the task force is just the beginning.  Now with recommendations approved by the MHA Board of Trustees, the real work of educating and training hospital team members responsible for completing the community benefit reports is about to begin.

Next month MHA and its partners at PYA will launch a three-part “boot camp” designed to train finance and community relations leaders on the use of the handbook created to guide the membership in its reporting.

Our goal is to ensure we have an “apples-to-apples” comparison across the state on community benefit reporting.  Although the MHA-approved recommendations include guidelines for the uninsured and underinsured, it also addresses how hospitals report numerous benefits to the community such as the provision of clinical support for our schools of nursing as one example.

As healthcare leaders, we understand the importance of regulatory compliance.  In the case of community benefit reporting, the task force found that the membership was under-reporting many items that have an impact on the big picture in each of our communities.

The community benefit boot camp is a must-attend virtual educational program that MHA encourages the membership to support.  We have all heard the saying, “if it wasn’t reported it didn’t happen.”  The boot camp will empower the membership to effectively and accurately report the good work being done by our hospitals across the state.  Please look for the upcoming announcement and commit your team members to attend.

The guidance you will receive will help tell the story of how MHA members are improving health and healthcare in Montana.