Tax-exempt status for hospitals: where have we been--and where are we going?

The IRS has two very different published administrative positions on the tax-exemption requirements that apply to hospitals. Hospitals that meet either standard should be recognized by the IRS as tax-exempt. The IRS sometimes appears to be attempting to back away from its more liberal tax-exemption standard (the so-called "community benefit standard"). There is also some pressure coming from Congress to change the applicable rules. Immediate change regarding tax-exemption standards may be more likely at the state and local level than at the federal level.