Hospitals' charity care under scrutiny nationwide

A national health bill released by Democratic Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus includes a proposal from Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa to "improve the community service, transparency and billing practices of nonprofit hospitals." The legislation also would require hospitals to adopt and "widely publicize" written financial assistance policies, which are now largely voluntary. Grassley has also raised questions about hospital missions, looking at tax exemptions and floating ideas about mandating levels of charity care.