In 1989, he developed for the Catholic Health Association ("CHA") the first accounting framework for hospital community benefit and co-authored the CHA Social Accountability Budget. He also authored the accounting chapters (and worksheets and other materials) in the May 2006 and December 2008 CHA Guide to Planning and Reporting Community Benefit. He developed a framework for determining “What Counts as Community Benefit”, adopted by CHA in 2007. In 2008, he was asked by IRS officials to draft major sections of the Instructions to IRS Form 990, Schedule H. He continues to work with federal officials on refinements to Schedule H Instructions and changes to federal hospital tax-exemption standards. He also was lead author of “A Form 990 Schedule H Conundrum: How Much of Your Bad Debt Might Be Charity,” which was published in hfm and received the Helen Yerger/L. Vann Seawell Best Article Award for 2010.
He has worked with numerous healthcare organizations to assess their community benefit programs and to conduct community health needs assessments. Mr. Hearle also has examined strategic options for numerous public hospitals in California, reviewed business plans and alternatives for public charity hospitals across the State of Louisiana, analyzed the implications of a hospital change in ownership on county-operated health and public programs, and performed health care impact studies for the California Attorney General regarding transactions involving tax-exempt healthcare assets.
He serves as faculty for ACHE, and is a frequent presenter on a variety of community benefit-related topics. He currently is Treasurer of Alexandria Neighborhood Health Services, Inc., a Federally Qualified Health Center that serves a medically underserved population in Alexandria and Arlington Counties, VA.
Mr. Hearle has an MBA in Finance from Vanderbilt University and a BA in Economics from Davidson College.
