HAP has developed a sample request for proposal (RFP) for hospitals and health systems interested in issuing an RFP for a contract to conduct a community health needs assessment. HAP also is providing an RFP format guide to share with potential vendors and a list of potential vendors who have the capabilities to undertake this type of project. If you plan to issue an RFP, please keep the following issues in mind:

• The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requirements are not yet final. HAP’s sample RFP language was written based upon IRS proposed guidance issues, including Notice 2011-52. HAP joined the American Hospital Association (AHA) and others in submitting comments about the IRS proposed guidance.
• Meeting the community health needs assessment requirement involves conducting and posting a facility-specific report, and securing board approval for implementation of a plan.
• Hospitals and health systems have the option to contract for community health needs assessment services separately or jointly if they serve the same broad community.
• The RFP sample language will have to be tailored by hospitals/health systems based on whether they wish to meet minimal Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements or conduct more in-depth assessments.

Questions about the RFP should be directed to Martin Ciccocioppo, HAP’s vice president of research services.

Sample Request for Proposal 5 Page(s) / 56.00 Kb - Download time approximately 0.5 secs on a 1.0 mb connection Microsoft Word - Download a viewer for this attachment - How to Download

Sample Request for Proposal Format (for Vendor) 2 Page(s) / 27.50 Kb - Download time approximately 0.3 secs on a 1.0 mb connection Microsoft Word - Download a viewer for this attachment - How to Download

Potential Vendor Contact Information (November 2012) 5 Page(s) / 52.50 Kb - Download time approximately 0.5 secs on a 1.0 mb connection Microsoft Word - Download a viewer for this attachment - How to Download

The Affordable Care Act requires tax-exempt hospitals to complete community health needs assessments at least once every three years and to adopt implementation strategies to meet the needs identified. This requirement is effective during tax years beginning after March 23, 2012, and is subject to a penalty of a $50,000 excise tax for failure to comply.

Listed below are resources to assist hospitals and health systems with meeting the community health needs assessment requirement.

Community Information Resources:

• University of Pittsburgh Community Health Needs Resources - Resources to help through all stages of the cycle—from engaging community stakeholders to evaluating the impact of interventions.
• County Health Profiles - The 2010 County Health Profiles are a series of 68 individual data listings for various health-related subject areas—one for each county and one for the commonwealth.
• PA Department of Health Resources
• Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Resources - This interactive county health profile allows the user to generate statewide or county-specific reports on inpatient hospital utilization.
• Public Health Management Corporation (Southeast PA Region) - Provides up-to-date and reliable community-level health and social service data.
• County Health Rankings - Health rankings for most U.S. counties based on certain measures of population health.
• U.S. Census Bureau - State & County QuickFacts - Facts about people, business, and geography - data for all states and counties, and for cities and towns with more than 25,000 people.
• City-Data.com - Complete profiles of all U.S. cities including geographical data, state profiles, crime data, cost of living, housing, local poverty details, and more.
• Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Reporting System - Crime statistics information.
• JEFFLINE - Academic and scholarly information system of Thomas Jefferson University.
• The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry Center for Workforce Information and Analysis - Pennsylvania employment by industry and unemployment data by county.
• HAP Managed Care Enrollment Data by Payer and County

Community Health Needs Assessment Tool Kits:

• Assessing and Addressing Community Health Needs - Helps not-for-profit health care organizations strengthen their assessment and community benefit planning processes.
• Tax-Exempt Hospital Requirements: Community Health Needs Assessments Webinar
• Apple Book - A Guide for Assessing and Improving Health Status
• Apple 2 Book - A Guide for Implementing Community Health Improvement Programs
• Association for Community Health Improvement - A guide for planning, leading, and using community health assessments to improve the health of communities, including a model assessment process.
• CDC’s Healthy Communities Program - Helps community teams/coalitions develop their community action plan, provides assessment process, and helps define and prioritize areas of improvement.
• The Community Tool Box - A global resource for free information on essential skills for building healthy communities.
• Pennsylvania Department of Health Resources
• Washington State Department of Health - Provides public health staff with information, tools, and resources to improve the practice of community health assessment.

• Hospital Community Health Needs Assessment; Second Survey Focuses on Progress and Plan Implementation
  HAP Memo
• Comment Letter to IRS on the Community Health Needs Assessment Portion of the Schedule H
  Publication
• New Resources to Support Community Health Needs Assessment Process
  HAP Memo
• HAP Developing Community Needs Assessment Resources; Survey Information Needed
  HAP Memo