Community Benefit Report released for Delaware hospitals

The Delaware Healthcare Association recently released its eighth annual Community Benefit Report.

"Delaware's hospitals have a tremendous impact on the health and economy of the state. They have repeatedly demonstrated their commitment to provide quality healthcare services to everyone who walks through their front doors, regardless of their ability to pay," said Wayne A. Smith, president and CEO of the Delaware Healthcare Association. "ln addition, hospitals are economic powerhouses, offering well-paying jobs that translate into additional economic benefits."

Hospital contributions to Delaware's quality of life were recently quantified in the report with data based on hospital costs. All Delaware acute care hospitals are represented in the report. "Community benefit" represents the total value of community benefit programs plus the total costs of unpaid patient care commonly arising from bad debt, charity care and unpaid costs incurred from Medicaid, Medicare and Tricare.

In Fiscal Year 2016, Delaware hospitals contributed a total of $348.8 million to the state in the form of community benefits as follows: community benefit programs: $148.6 million; charity care: $41.9 million; bad debt: $48.6 million; and unpaid costs of Medicaid, Medicare and Tricare: $109.7 million.

Community benefit programs support a wide range of activities, including community health improvement projects, health professions education, health research and subsidized health services. Examples of programs addressing unmet health needs are highlighted in the report to show how hospitals contribute to their communities beyond the provision of traditional healthcare services.

ln addition to community benefits, Delaware hospitals and health systems represent an impressive economic base and a key economic indicator to the state. In 2017, hospitals employed 22,999 employees with an average salary of $72,000, making them one of the largest sources of well-paying private-sector jobs. Hospitals also purchased over $3 billion in goods and services from other businesses. These create additional economic value for the community. With these ripple effects included, each hospital job supports approximately two additional jobs, and every dollar spent by a hospital supports almost $2 of additional business activity.

The effect of hospital expenditures on total state economic output for the year ending Dec. 31, 2017 was $5.7 billion. Delaware hospitals also generated $57 million in state and local taxes in 2017.

"Our job is the good health of every Delawarean. Our jobs foster a healthy economy," Smith said.

For more information and to view the Community Benefit Report, go to http://deha.org.