Uncompensated Care Jumps In Iowa

Iowa's hospitals provided $1.5 billion in community benefits to the Hawkeye State residents in 2012, included an increasing level of charity care.

Altogether, charity care benefits totaled $641.2 million in 2012, up 10% from 2011, according to the Iowa Hospital Association, which represents 118 acute care facilities statewide. Bad debt expenses at cost totaled $405.9 million.

“While there seems to be a recovery in the economy, there are a lot of people who still struggle to pay for their healthcare or who don't have insurance, and these numbers reflect that,” said IHA spokesperson Scott McIntyre.

Iowa's hospitals also reported losses of $211.1 million from Medicaid enrollees and $77.8 million from Medicare. Those figures are from fiscal 2011, which ended in mid-2012.

The state's hospitals also spent $69.7 million on subsidized health services, which the IHA described as “clinical programs that are provided despite a financial loss so significant that negative margins remain after removing the effects of charity care, bad debt and Medicaid shortfalls.”

Hospitals also spent $168.5 million on community benefits programs and services, which would include community clinics, health improvement programs, and other forms of outreach. They spent another $49.5 million on research, and $41.3 million on health professions education.

"The programs and services accounted for in the survey were implemented in direct response to the needs of individual communities as well as entire counties and regions," said Kirk Norris, the IHA's chief executive officer. "Many of these programs and services simply would not exist without hospital support and leadership."