OHA: Ohio hospitals give $1.8 billion boost to communities

According to a report from the Ohio Hospital Association, the state’s hospitals provided about $1.8 billion in assistance to their communities in 2006, including nearly $868 million in free care to the poor and underinsured and an additional $650 million in Medicaid care that was not reimbursed. (Source: “Ohio Hospital Association says hospitals provided $1.8 billion in benefits to communities,” Cleveland Plain-Dealer, June 10, 2008).

The report also concluded that Ohio's hospitals contributed $62.8 billion to the state’s economy in 2006 and were responsible for about a half-million jobs.