Issues to Watch

Community Benefits, and Their Scrutiny, on the Rise

Community health fairs and screenings, free services for the uninsured, prenatal and maternity programs--Pennsylvania's not-for-profit hospitals and health systems provide all these community benefits and more. In turn, they are exempt from paying taxes. The Internal Revenue Service has been reevaluating the reporting of these community benefits, and there have been discussions about whether hospitals should have to pay taxes. So it's more important than ever for you, as part of the hospital family, to understand your hospital's many important contributions.

Providing More Benefits Than Ever

As a matter of course, hospitals save lives, improve quality of life, and heal the injuries and illnesses of everyday life. Besides serving the immediate needs of their patients, hospitals go above and beyond to develop, staff, and fund additional services that improve the overall health and well-being of communities. In many cases, these programs would not be available if hospitals did not provide them. Community benefits include two major components; the unreimbursed costs of providing care to patients who have little or no means to pay for that care, and community services that include, but are not limited to:

• Free clinics and health services
• Child health promotion efforts
• School-based wellness programs
• Health screenings and education
• Health fairs
• Prenatal and maternity programs
• Health professions presentations
• Scholarship programs
• Adult activity programs
• Community outreach vans

With the current economic downturn, hospitals are providing more community benefits than ever. Hospitals are extending more charity care and financial assistance, coping with more unpaid patient bills, and serving more patients with Medical Assistance (and being paid less than what it costs to provide the care). Many hospitals are supporting food drives, support groups and clinic services, and working to provide social services for those in need. During the last year on record, the amount of uncompensated care (charity care plus bad debt) provided by Pennsylvania hospitals grew 11 percent to $753 million.

Learn and Share the Many Good Works

What special programs does your hospital have to serve the specific needs of its community? Does your emergency department have a patient education group for children with asthma? Does your hospital provide social, networking, or learning opportunities for older adults? Knowing about these "extras" should make you feel even prouder of the work you do every day. You may even end up telling family and friends about community benefits that could help with their particular health needs.

Tell Your Hospital's Story

Hospitals are amazing havens of healing, health, and hope. Share the good work that you and your hospital are doing. Highlight your hospital's most innovative or effective community benefit on the CareforPA website. Simply submit text, photos, or a link to videotape as described in this issue. Together let's spread the good news about how Pennsylvania hospitals are helping communities across the state.