Terms Used In Indiana Code > Title 16 > Article 21 > Chapter 9 - Provision of Charitable Care by Nonprofit Hospitals

• Charity: An agency, institution, or organization in existence and operating for the benefit of an indefinite number of persons and conducted for educational, religious, scientific, medical, or other beneficent purposes.
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• community benefits: means the unreimbursed cost to a hospital of providing charity care, government sponsored indigent health care, donations, education, government sponsored program services, research, and subsidized health services. See Indiana Code 16-21-9-1
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• government sponsored indigent health care: means the unreimbursed cost to a hospital of Medicare, providing health care services to recipients of Medicaid, and other federal, state, or local indigent health care programs, eligibility for which is based on financial need. See Indiana Code 16-21-9-2
• nonprofit hospital: means a hospital that is organized as a nonprofit corporation or a charitable trust under Indiana law or the laws of any other state or country and that is:

  Indiana Code 16-21-9-3

• Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5