Like many other hospitals around the country, hospitals in Montana have increased significantly the amount of charity care they provide to low-income and uninsured patients, reports the Great Falls Tribune.
At the state's 10 largest hospitals, charitable care totaled $57.5 million in 2009, up more than $9 million from the previous year, according to a report by the Montana Attorney General's Office.
Billings Clinic had the highest dollar amount of charity care at $14.5 million, notes the Missoulian State Bureau.
The report showed that charity care also increased as a percentage of hospitals' expenses since reporting began in 2006. In 2009, charity care averaged 2.79 percent of the 10 hospitals' budgets, up from 2.57 percent the year before. St. Vincent Hospital's budget had the highest percentage of charity care at 3.57 percent.
The growth in charity care not only highlights that Montana hospitals are meeting their obligations as tax-exempt entities, but also that the need for charity care is growing as well. In fact, the number of Montanans requesting charity care soared from 27,200 in 2008 to 41,500 in 2009 at all 22 hospitals examined, notes the Missoulian.
The article cites increasing prices and a lack of healthcare coverage in the state as reasons why more patients are unable to pay for all of their medical care.
But in the end, the value of the charity care exceeded the value of the major hospitals' tax exemptions, the article found. The tax exemptions for Montana's 10 largest hospitals had a collective value of $38.47 million in 2009, while they spent a combined $57.49 million on charity care, notes the Great Falls Tribune.
For more information:
- check out the Great Falls Tribune article
- read the Missoulian article
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