70% of Charities Forecast Rise in Donations in 2013 (http://philanthropy.com/article/Most-Charities-Forecast-Rise/138303/)Chronicle of Philanthropy, 4/8/13More than seven in 10 nonprofits expect their donations to increase this year, even amid a challenging economic and political climate“Overall consumer confidence in the economy rose last year and that created a more positive environment for charities to go out in and build relationships [with donors],” says Andrew Watt, president of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, a co-sponsor of the study.He says giving could slip this year, however, because donors could get turned off by Congressional debates over the deductibility of charitable gifts. But such fears didn’t seem to influence the projections.
Research has found a statistically significant correlation between changes in total giving and values on the S&P 500 index. Because stock market values are an indicator of financial and economic security, households and corporations are more likely to give when the stock market is up.High-net worth households are particularly responsive to changes in the stock market in terms of their charitable behavior. These households usually hold at least a portion of their assets in stocks.The S&P 500 generally sees much more dramatic changes from year to year than total giving, and the direction of change of total giving usually lags behind the S&P 500 by 1-2 years.More:AHP White Paper: Economic Cycles and Charitable Giving (PDF saved in SOI folder)Report analyzing how charitable giving has been affected by economic cycles in recent decadesLooks at: economic cycles and individual philanthropic giving, the impact of estate taxes on charitable bequests, and changes in corporate philanthropy based on the economyThe health subsector received the fourth-largest proportion of charitable dollars in 2012, at an estimated 9 percent of the total. This is the same percentage as in 2011, according to Giving USA’s revised estimates.
1:25:20
Economic issues maybe less of an excuse – and even if still problematic, they are nothing new to us in fundraising. What we’re seeing as a bigger challenge for today’s major gift fundraisers is the shifting sands of health care and its depiction outside industry circles.Hospitals are having an identity crisis --- how to make more donor sounding?Socialized medicine negates the need for philanthropy --- government is funding it, and I fund government through taxes… so I’m already paying for health care through higher taxesHospitals have too much moneyHospitals are risky investments
CEO Script:You probably saw this, the TIME Magazine issue that came out in March and made a huge splash nationally. Your first reaction was probably the same as mine, “TIME Magazine still exists?” [PAUSE]. And my second reaction was, “They dedicated the full issue to a 64-page article on hospital pricing?” [PAUSE].Kidding aside, my main reaction, and I’m sure this was yours as well, was that the article was a little sensational. First of all, we know this is a problem. We remember a few years ago when the Wall Street Journal ran similar stories. We all quickly developed charity care policies and financial assistance guidelines.And Steven Brill’s “Bitter Pill” had exactly the stories you’d expect the national press to devour. Things like the $1.50 Tylenol, the $18 diabetes test strip, and the $77 box of sterile gauze pads. And of course, they immediately went to the CEO’s salary, a clear sign of yellow journalism. But for all the sensationalism, the article sparked new discussion about our pricing, or at least our charges.
http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/hospital-ceos-see-double-digit-pay-hikes/article_431263e2-81c9-5367-b0bd-f48885169adb.htmlHere’s why hospitals set high pricesWashington Post, 05/19/13Hospitals set “absurdly high prices” compared to what insures and Medicare would actually pay because of the chargemaster – and even uninsured patients don’t always pay the chargemaster rate (VP of AHA)Hospitals may also pay these high prices because it positively impacts the “amount of charity care” they provide Health differences may explain up to 85% of Medicare cost variationDaily Briefing, 5/29/13A new study finds that health care outcomes and differences in health status tend to influence Medicare spending more than wasteful practices and overtreatment, although one Dartmouth Atlas economist called the new research "fatally flawed." CMS pulls back the curtain on hospital ‘prices’Daily Briefing, 5/8/13CMS's Center for Medicare Director Jonathan Blum noted that the data do not explain why the variation exists. "What drives some hospitals to have significantly higher charges than their geographic peers?," Blum asked, adding, "I don't think anyone here has come up with a good economic argument." Hospital Billing Varies Wildly, Government Data ShowsNew York Times, 5/8/13Government data show that hospitals charge Medicare “wildly different” prices; raises questions as to how hospitals determine prices and why there is such variation“Use of CEO compensation comparisons draws heightened scrutiny”http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20130511/MAGAZINE/305119956The unwelcome role of the IRS in ObamacareWashington Post, 5/23/13“Why Health Care Costs Are So High”New York Times, 6/3/13http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/04/opinion/why-health-care-costs-are-so-high.html?pagewanted=allhttp://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2011/11/why-does-healthcare-cost-so-much.htmlhttp://money.cnn.com/2012/07/12/news/economy/health-care-costs/index.htm
CEO Script:And then in May, CMS piled on, publishing charges for the top 100 discharges for every acute care hospital in America. Looking at the Chicago market, for example, we see massive variation in charges for treating the same condition.I’m sure CMS was trying to be helpful, promoting transparency. But the problem is that they published charge data without any real context. These are charges, not prices. We know that charge masters have a very different purpose, setting up commercial payer negotiations. Medicare certainly doesn’t pay these rates.And this is just the beginning. CMS already published outpatient charges, and then they’re planning to publish physician pricing next. How long before somebody starts taking all that charge data and compares it to quality data. We’re now in the deep end of transparency around our pricing.
CEO Script:Back to reality, nobody actually pays these charges. We negotiate huge discounts with commercial payers. Medicare and Medicaid are both price setters, so they don’t pay these prices either. They pay much lower than what’s listed on the charge master. And even uninsured patients aren’t generally getting stuck with rack rate charges. We have deep discounts for uninsured patients, and we collect very little of that money.
Pull scripting
Q: What hospital financials would you recommend philanthropy leaders and frontline fundraisers know?A: At the very least, I think they should be aware of what their operating margin is, and how much charity care and community benefit their hospital provides each year – from our own Revenue Cycle Benchmarking Initiative data, charity care is 3.7% of net patient revenue at the average hospital. And the number can be much higher—we work closely with a health system in the Rockies that incurs about $170 million in costs each year for services that patients are unable to pay for.As philanthropy leaders talk with members of their communities, I think they should be equipped to discuss the “community benefit” they provide—whether that is charity care for low-income patients, free wellness services and diagnostic screenings, or something else.And lastly, I think it’s important to remember that hospitals and health systems are facing more financial pressures than they ever have. We’re seeing drastic cuts to Medicare and Medicaid payments, and private insurers are lowering their rate increases as well—all while the population at large gets older, sicker, and more expensive to care for.Our modeling shows a pretty drastic result of those changes: We project that an average hospital that maintains its current course will see margins around negative 16% in a decade. With such severe financial pressures, I think philanthropy has an essential role to play to make sure hospitals can continue to serve their communities.
Economic issues maybe less of an excuse – and even if still problematic, they are nothing new to us in fundraising. What we’re seeing as a bigger challenge for today’s major gift fundraisers is the shifting sands of health care and its depiction outside industry circles.Hospitals are having an identity crisis --- how to make more donor sounding?Socialized medicine negates the need for philanthropy --- government is funding it, and I fund government through taxes… so I’m already paying for health care through higher taxesHospitals have too much moneyHospitals are risky investments
http://themorningconsult.com/memo-on-the-poll-findings-public-opinion-on-the-affordable-care-act/This Morning Consult Poll was conducted from May 22-26, 2013, among a national sample of 1,000 likely voters. 700 interviews were conducted via landline, along with 300 interviews of cell-phone only users reached via the Internet. The survey was conducted by Republican Pollster John McLaughlin of McLaughlin & Associates and Democratic Pollster Margie Omero of Momentum Analysis. Results from the full sample have a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.Memo on the Poll Findings – Public Opinion on the Affordable Care Acthttp://themorningconsult.com/memo-on-the-poll-findings-public-opinion-on-the-affordable-care-act/43% approve of the law, compared with 49% who disapprove. Yet, American’s opposing “Obamacare” exhibit much stronger views than those favor it. Strong disapproval (41%) nearly doubles strong approval (23%) (Morning Consult , 6/11/13)Forty-four percent of Americans say “Obamacare” will make things a little or a lot worse for their family, compared with 23 percent who say the Affordable Care Act will make things better and one in four who say the legislation will have no effect on their families.Forty-seven percent of Americans say Obamacare will make health insurance costs much more expensive or somewhat more expensive, compared to 24 percent who say costs will remain the same, and only 15 percent who say health insurance costs will be much less expensive or somewhat less expensive.Thirty-four percent of Americans say the Affordable Care Act will make medical benefits such as doctor’s appointments, medical treatments and prescription drugs less available. Eighteen percent say the legislation will make such benefits more available, and 37 percent say medical benefits will remain the same under the legislation.
Transition: Everyone thinks coverage expansion means this, but let’s look at what it really means
Sebelius has trouble fundraising on the national stage. They key is to keep it localTransition out: you need to figure out who you are in this crazy health care worldReport -- Big Donors Tend To Give LocallyNonProfit Times, 4/17/13The majority of publicly announced gifts of $1 million or more (60 percent) are from donors who live in the same state or geographic region as the nonprofit or foundation that receives the gift, according to the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy in Indianapolis, Ind.Particularly, five types of organizations received at least half of their gifts from donors in the same state and approximately two-thirds of their gifts from donors in the same geographic region. These recipient organizations include: Health organizations; Arts, culture, and humanities organizations; Foundations; Higher educational institutions; and Government agencies.Report: http://www.philanthropy.iupui.edu/news/article/the-million-dollar-gift-next-door
Economic issues maybe less of an excuse – and even if still problematic, they are nothing new to us in fundraising. What we’re seeing as a bigger challenge for today’s major gift fundraisers is the shifting sands of health care and its depiction outside industry circles.Hospitals are having an identity crisis --- how to make more donor sounding?Socialized medicine negates the need for philanthropy --- government is funding it, and I fund government through taxes… so I’m already paying for health care through higher taxesHospitals have too much moneyHospitals are risky investments
HRIC/NEC scripting
Script: for fourth identity, it will also depend on having built out some of the other identities.
1:25:20
Donors still feel social responsibility to give back, independent of the economy and tax policy. But we’re competing with other nonprofits… how to make case for health care? In particularly, we have a difficult time translating the impact of their gifts, given this changing health care environment.
Scripting? Forbes article about how hospitals could redefine charity care and community benefit beyond just providing uncompensated care to uninsured patients… could be offering free preventive health services, funding biomedical research, etc.