HOSPITALS PROVIDED $644 MILLION IN COMMUNITY BENEFITS FOR MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENTS IN FISCAL YEAR 2016
BOSTON – Massachusetts hospitals provided $644 million in community benefits for residents of Massachusetts in Fiscal Year 2016, according to reports published today by Attorney General Maura Healey’s Office.
A total of 59 hospitals filed community benefits reports for Fiscal Year 2016. Of those, 49 non-profit acute care hospitals reported a total of $608 million in community benefit expenditures, of which $36 million was reported for free or discounted care provided directly to patients. In addition, 10 for-profit hospitals reported more than $36 million in community benefit expenditures, $6 million of which was reported as free or discounted care for patients.
“The hundreds of millions of dollars in community benefits provided by Massachusetts hospitals are essential in addressing the health needs of our residents,” AG Healey said. “As we update our guidelines for next year, we recognize the ongoing work of our hospitals to promote community health not only by providing medical services to the underserved, but by coordinating efforts to improve health outcomes and reduce health disparities in our neighborhoods.”
AG Healey’s Community Benefits Program supports a key component of the mission of hospitals and health maintenance organizations (HMOs). The office’s Community Benefits Guidelines encourage hospitals and HMOs to build upon their commitment to address unmet community health needs each year by formalizing their approach to planning for annual benefits, collaborating with community representatives in developing programs, and filing annual reports with the Attorney General’s Office on their efforts. HMO community benefits reports will be published this summer.
In an effort to streamline reporting requirements, AG Healey convened health care experts in April for the first meeting of the Advisory Task Force on Community Benefits, which is examining potential updates to the AG’s Community Benefits Program. Task force members are discussing strategies for advancing statewide health priorities and exploring recommendations to better align resources and standards across common programs to build the long-term capacity of communities to improve health outcomes and reduce disparities.
The Community Benefits Program is managed by Project Manager Elana Brochin, Legal Analyst Perusi Namulwa, and Assistant Attorney General Sandra Wolitzky, under the guidance of Senior Counsel Karen Tseng, of AG Healey’s Health Care and Fair Competition Bureau.
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