Tag Archives: Charity Care
Profit margins at hospitals rise as charity care falls in the St. Louis region
Profit margins at St. Louis area hospitals rose to 4.5 percent in 2014 due to increased emergency room and outpatient visits and steep declines in charity care, according to a new report from the St. Louis Area Business Health Coalition, an organization that represents area employers.
While profits increased, hospitals were less charitable, the organization found. In 2014 area hospitals spent 2.1 percent of their operating revenue on charity care, or free or reduced care for low-income individuals. In the previous year, area hospitals spent 2.93 percent of operating revenue on charity care. That’s a nearly 28 percent decline in charity care in the region, according to Karen Roth, author of the report.
For some health care advocates, a decrease in charity care is problematic because nonprofit hospitals are tax-exempt based on an expectation that they provide free care to those in need. However, the Internal Revenue Service and the state of Missouri do not have any requirements regarding how much charity care a nonprofit hospital must provide.
Declining Charity Care Levels Raise Questions About 340B Hospital Eligibility
The 340B program was created for an important purpose: to help uninsured, needy patients access the medicines they need. However, a new analysis paints a very different picture of how the program is currently operating. While 340B hospitals are tasked with serving vulnerable patients, data show 64 percent of these hospitals provide less charity care than the national average for all hospitals, including for-profit entities. Not only is this low number concerning, it represents a decrease in charity care rates for 340B hospitals since 2011. This begs the question of whether hospitals or patients are benefitting more from the program.
Charity care, financial assistance standards in hospitals unfair to patients, professor says
A study of 140 hospitals showed eligibility cutoffs ranging from an income of 100 percent of the federal poverty level to 600 percent.
What do high deductible health plans really mean for hospitals?
HENRY KOTULA 