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» A magazine for and about Oregon Community Hospitals.
Each day, Oregon’s community hospitals voluntarily provide programs and services
beyond simply caring for the sick and injured.
Driven by a mission to provide high-quality health care that
extends beyond the hospital walls, hospitals make available
free and discounted care, community health services, health
education, wellness programs, and more, with the goal of
saving and improving lives.
Hospitals are dedicated to strengthening the community by
helping the Oregonians who need it most. Tens of thousands
of Oregonians are served every year through voluntary
community benefit programs that improve the overall
quality of life. These programs help manage the health needs
that are unique to each community.
In 2015, Oregon’s community hospitals provided $1.9 billion
in community benefit activities, as reported to the Oregon
Health Authority. In the same year, hospitals experienced
346,000 inpatient stays, 1.4 million emergency room visits,
and 11 million outpatient visits, and welcomed more than
44,000 new babies into the world.
Hospitals Exceed Pledge to Maintain
Community Benefit Spending
In early 2015, hospitals announced a new community benefit
policy knowing that the health care model was rapidly
shifting with the expansion of Medicaid in Oregon. With
the policy, hospitals pledged to maintain, or increase, the
amount they spend on community benefit, despite a drop in
charity care as a result of the Affordable Care Act.
At that same time, they announced a voluntary expansion
of their policy for free care, which allows people and families
who earn up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level to
receive free care.
Data from the Oregon Health Authority shows that Oregon
hospitals not only achieved their 2015 pledge to maintain
their overall community benefit levels, but they exceeded it.
Hospitals increased services in community benefit categories
other than charity care by $230 million in 2015, as
compared with average levels over the previous three years.
What Counts as Community Benefit?
Community benefit refers to health care-related services
that Oregon’s nonprofit hospitals provide—with little or
no compensation—to address critical health needs in the
community.
In 2007, the Oregon Legislature created the categories for
community benefit, which is defined as health care-related
services that hospitals provide without the expectation
of compensation. In 2015, hospitals reported community
benefit in the following categories:
•
$157 million in Charity Care:
Free or discounted
health services provided to people who cannot afford
to pay and who meet the eligibility criteria of the
hospital’s financial assistance policy.
•
$1.3 billion in Underpayment:
The shortfall created
when a hospital receives payments that are less than
the cost of caring for patients on Medicaid, Medicare,
State Children’s Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP),
and other public programs.
•
$31 million in Community Health Improvement
Services:
Activities that improve community health
based on an identified community need. They include
See Examples of Community Benefits, starting on page 14
A COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY
SPECIAL SECTION: A COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY