Nonprofit Policy News | Special Edition: Nonprofits & Health Care

Given the importance of health care reform, this month's Nonprofit Policy News focuses exclusively on how nonprofits largely have been left out of the federal health care reform legislation.
Please forward this special edition to your fellow staff and board members, as well as friends and colleagues at other nonprofits, so those who care about nonprofits can be informed about this important policy matter. They then can also sign up to receive future editions and learn about policy matters impacting nonprofits. The next special edition will focus on another issue of grave importance to nonprofits: How state budget shortfalls are hitting nonprofits especially hard, hurting the communities we serve.

Health Care Reform - Why Are Nonprofits Being Left Out?

For months, nonprofits have been trying to get the Administration and Congress to recognize that nonprofits are employers that should be included in the health care reform legislation. Despite repeated and concentrated efforts by nonprofits in D.C. and across the nation, to date the Administration and the three congressional committees in the House have supported small for-profit businesses by giving them a tax credit to ease the strain of escalating health insurance costs. Nonprofits face those same escalating health insurance costs, but so far the Administration has indicated no support for nonprofits and the three versions of the House bill provide no relief for nonprofits.

The National Council of Nonprofits does not support this inequitable treatment of nonprofits. As one nonprofit leader was quoted in a recent New York Times article ("Nonprofit Groups Upset at Exclusion from Health Bills"): "Why should employees of nonprofits be treated worse than employees of for-profit businesses?"  

A growing number of members of Congress are starting to express interest in including nonprofits in the health reform legislation. Nonprofits are now included (to differing degrees) in bills by two Senate Committees. The challenges for nonprofits remain significant, however, as the various health care reform bills move from committees to the House and Senate floors and then to a conference committee.

For more on health care reform and nonprofits, read the attached memo for background, current status, and next steps on the journey - as well as other amendments and issues being raised.