Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) propose amendments to the economic stimulus bill "intended to ratchet up the scrutiny on charity care and not-for-profit hospitals" says ModernHealthcare.com.  The Wall Street Journal Health Blog reports that "[o]ne Grassley-sponsored amendment would require the Treasury department (which includes the IRS) to compare the amount of uncompensated care and executive compensation provided at nonprofit versus for-profit hospitals.

IRS Authority to Question Nonprofit Hospitals About Charity Care

“We don’t see much of a difference between nonprofit hospitals and for-profit hospitals,” said Theresa Pattara, a staff member of the office of Senate Finance Committee (SFC) ranking member Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), at an American Health Lawyers Association program on September 12 in Washington D.C.