**NHA News Release January 2008

Report shows Nebraska hospitals contributed nearly $697 million
in community benefits in FY 06

LINCOLN, Neb. — “Nobody should have to choose between buying food for their family and paying for the medicines necessary to keep them alive,” says Nan Hynes, director of case management at Great Plains Regional Medical Center in North Platte. Unfortunately, that is the reality for some residents of West Central Nebraska, but Great Plains Regional Medical Center’s Medication Assistance Program helps patients obtain low- or no-cost prescriptions before they have to make such impossible choices. Over just one five-month period, hospital staff helped patients save over $280,000 in prescriptions—critical medicines patients could not afford otherwise.

This is just one example of the thousands of ways Nebraska hospitals and their employees reach out to those in need. Today, the Nebraska Hospital Association (NHA) released its 2007 Nebraska Hospitals Community Benefits Report which highlights hospitals’ community benefit contributions for fiscal year 2006. These community benefits include traditional charity care, unpaid costs of public programs, non-billed community services, research, medical education, subsidized health services, and cash/in-kind donations. Though the figures are significant, community benefits are more than just numbers. Dollars alone can never communicate the complete story of how communities are enhanced by the programs and services provided by hospitals. The benefit that hospitals routinely provide cannot be exclusively measured in dollars and cents; instead, it is evident in the millions of lives they touch.

Despite economic hardships, declining reimbursement and increasing costs, Nebraska’s hospitals reported nearly $697 million in community benefits, over $56 million MORE than reported in the previous year. Additionally, $166.6 million in bad debt was incurred in FY 2006, and is included in the report as a substantial contribution to the public. Hospitals shoulder the burden of bad debt when patients are unable or unwilling to pay their bills and decline to apply for charity care. In accordance with their missions, hospitals provide services regardless of an individual’s ability or willingness to pay. In total, Nebraska hospitals provided $863 million in unpaid community services in FY 2006. These figures illustrate that Nebraska hospitals are committed to caring and providing health care services to everyone who enters their doors, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Nebraska hospitals serve not only as high quality health care providers, but also as substantial economic drivers in their communities. Hospitals are frequently among the largest employers in their communities and help support a variety of affiliate businesses.

“Nebraska hospitals are known for their outstanding quality and commitment to health care excellence. In addition, our hospitals help improve the overall health and well being of their communities through a variety of programs and activities,” said NHA President Laura J. Redoutey, FACHE. “These programs are part of the hospital’s community benefits and include outreach events, clinics, screenings, employee volunteerism, cash and in-kind donations, research, education and more. The report illustrates several examples of programs offered by NHA member hospitals.”

Behind every community benefit dollar there is a human being – a lifesaving procedure provided to a child, a mother diagnosed in the early stages of breast cancer, or a grandparent offered a critical heart medication. To every Nebraskan whose life has been enhanced by hospitals’ charitable services and programs — community benefits go far beyond the numbers.

A copy of the 2007 Nebraska Hospitals Community Benefits Report is available on the NHA Web site (www.nhanet.org).


**The Nebraska Hospital Association is a non-profit organization whose mission is to serve as the unified voice for Nebraska’s hospitals and health systems, helping hospitals provide comprehensive care to their communities. Since 1927, the NHA has provided its member hospitals with state and federal advocacy, health care trend and regulatory information, educational programming, communication and data reports.

Community Hospital is a member of the Nebraska Hospital Association.