Orange City Area Health System provides over two million dollars in community benefits annually to residents in Northwest Iowa, according to an assessment of those programs and services completed this spring. That amount includes uncompensated care, as well as free or discounted community benefits that OCAHS specifically implemented to help area residents.
Community benefits are activities designed to improve health status and increase access to health care. According to CEO Marty Guthmiller, “Along with uncompensated care — which includes both charity care and bad debt — community benefits through Orange City Area Health system include programs such as health screenings, support groups, community health education programs, babysitting classes, emergency services, and scholarships.”
While businesses generally consider bad debt as simply a cost of doing business, according to the Iowa Hospital Association (IHA), hospitals differ from other businesses in that other businesses can refuse to provide a service or product to a person who cannot or will not pay, no matter what the reason. “Nonprofit hospitals are the safety net of Iowa’s healthcare system and do not deny access to care to anyone, no matter what their ability to pay,” reports the IHA.
In fact, Iowa’s community hospitals provide uncompensated healthcare valued at more than $1.2 billion per year. They also, like Orange City Area Health System, invest in the health of their communities by increasing access to needed healthcare services to the tune of $147 million in reduced-fee or free programs and services.
“Being an integral part of the communities we serve is simply the right thing to do,” adds Guthmiller. “We value the opportunity to make the region we serve a better place to work, live and raise a family.”