Ohio hospitals report $1.5 billion in "community benefit"

In a report released last month, the Ohio Hospital Association (OHA) stated that its member hospitals provided more than $1.5 billion in community benefit in 2005 (source: Building Healthy Communities PDF download). The hospital membership organization said that the amount of community benefit provided by its 166 community hospitals in 2005 included $320.8 million in Medicaid losses, $816 million in charity care, and $887 million in community activities, which included "immunization programs, health screenings, medical research and education costs, disaster relief, support for community programs and more" (Source: OHA press release).

The OHA release says that the $1.5 billion "understates the amount of community benefit provided by Ohio hospitals." Not included in the official total of $1.5 billion are the financial contributions hospitals make to subsidize bad debt ($313.1 million) and Medicare losses ($393.5 million). The OHA also stated that its member hospitals pumped $58.8 billion into the state’s economy and employed 522,898 Ohioans either directly or indirectly in 2005.