Explaining the new rules for measuring community benefit.

HP: What motivated the IRS to review tax exemptions for nonprofit hospitals as part of its Exempt Organizations Work Plan (public document indicating priorities and projects) in recent years? Schultz: Those of us who work on tax exemptions for the IRS wanted to put hospitals on the work plan in order to get a better understanding of the nonprofit hospital community. We frankly realized we did not have good understanding of the sector, which has changed so much over the last few decades, so we felt it was time for us to take a close look and see what we could learn about nonprofit hospitals. Second, hospitals are the only sector that has a schedule dedicated to them — Schedule H — on the new 990. That's why there's been so much interest. Ronald Schultz