A recent study by the American Hospital Association makes a point its lobbyists no doubt cheered--that it has a whole lot of clout as an employer. The study, which was unveiled at the group's yearly meeting, showed the hospitals employed more than 5 million people in 2006, and spent about $284 billion on compensation. It also concluded that the hospitals provided $13.2 billion in uncompensated care during the same period. These numbers put hospitals second only to restaurants as employers. The research was co-sponsored by research firm Avalere Health LLC.

To learn more about the study:
- read this Modern Healthcare piece [1]
- read this Healthcare Finance News piece [2]

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