Report: Hospitals provided $100B in community benefits in 2017

All hospitals regardless of ownership provide a comprehensive range of benefits and essential services to their communities. According to an analysis released today by the AHA looking specifically at tax-exempt hospitals, non-profit hospitals provided $100 billion in community benefits in 2017. This is the most recent year for which comprehensive data is available and represents 13.8% of their total expenses that year. Tax-exempt hospitals report publicly on community benefit activities, which include financial assistance for those in need, as well as a wide range of programs and services to meet the current and future health needs of all they serve. About half of their 2017 community benefit expenditures went to financial assistance for patients and absorbing losses due to underpayments from Medicaid and other means-tested government programs.

“As we have dramatically seen over the first half of this year, all of America’s hospitals and health systems are there for patients and communities in times of crisis,” said AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack. “But hospitals and health systems of all sizes and types also deliver a wide range of benefits, activities, services and programs on a daily basis to meet the varied needs of their patients and communities. This new analysis shows that improving the health of their communities remains at the heart of the mission of hospitals and health systems."