Tax-Exempt Hospitals and Community Health Under the Affordable Care Act: Identifying and Addressing Unmet Legal Needs as Social Determinants of Health

Abstract

This article reviews recently promulgated Internal Revenue Service regulations for nonprofit hospitals seeking tax exemption and a new estimate of national hospital community benefit spending, and analyzes how they point to the value of hospitals working with community partners to address the social determinants of health. It then explains how unmet legal needs function as health determinants, and suggests how hospitals’ participation in medical-legal partnerships can address those needs.