Community Benefits Guidelines

Find guidelines from the Attorney General's Office (AGO) for community benefits programs from hospitals and HMOs.

New Guidelines Published February 2018

On February 7, 2018, the AGO published new Community Benefits Guidelines for Non-Profit Hospitals and new Community Benefits Guidelines for Health Maintenance Organizations.  These updated Guidelines are fully effective starting in Hospital fiscal year 2019, with a transition period to include an interim launch in fiscal year 2018 for those elements that can be appropriately introduced at that time.  The AGO anticipates working closely with filers throughout the transition. The updated Guidelines are available now to help filers plan for reports for FY2018 and onward.   

• Updated Community Benefits Guidelines for Non Profit Hospitals 
• Updated Community Benefits Guidelines for Health Maintenance Organizations 

The updated Guidelines reference new tools that allow hospitals and HMOs to set goals for how best to engage their communities and facilitate direct feedback from community members. 

• Hospital Self-Assessment Form – Year 1
• Hospital Self-Assessment Update Form – Years 2 and 3
• Hospital Community Representative Feedback Form
   
• HMO Self-Assessment Form – Year 1
• HMO Self-Assessment Update Form – Years 2 and 3
• HMO Community Representative Feedback Form

Additional Resources

Overview of Community Benefits in Massachusetts

Development of New Guidelines (2017-2018)

In April 2017, Attorney General Maura Healey convened an Advisory Task Force to assist her in reviewing the Guidelines in the context of updated statewide health priorities, new IRS requirements associated with the ACA, and accelerating delivery system transformation.  The Advisory Task Force participated in a thoughtful, focused, and productive review process that concluded in December 2017.  The Advisory Task Force considered how the Guidelines could be improved to help hospitals and HMOs most effectively assess the needs of their communities, design programs to meet these needs, and measure the success of their programs.  Concurrent with the Advisory Task Force, the AGO conducted a series of listening sessions to engage directly with the public on the Guidelines and to gather feedback on how they could be improved.