What are not-for-profit/community-minded hospitals?
What it means to your community
Local control, local concerns. No private gain. Access to care. And attention to community needs. Not-for-profit/community-minded healthcare systems, like Health First, hold themselves accountable to the people they serve.
| Not-for-profit/community-minded |
Investor-owned |
| Assets stay in the community. |
Assets belong to investors/owners. |
| Local board of trustees serve without pay and balance financial decisions with community concerns. |
Major decisions are often made by individuals outside the community who emphasize creating profits for the stockholders. |
| Not for "private" profit; no private person or corporation makes any profit. |
Stockholders might be physicians who practice at the hospital; community members are generally not allowed to purchase stock. |
| All income above expenses is used to improve the health of the community. |
Profits often leave the community. |
| Provides a full spectrum of care — education, prevention, and treatment — that benefits all members of the community. |
Provides a full range of care that benefits the community they serve; however, focus is also placed on how to best serve their investors. |
Fiscal facts about not-for-profit/community-minded healthcare systems
Not-for-profit/community-minded healthcare systems/hospitals do pay some taxes, such as FICA and indigent care tax, but are exempt from others, such as sales tax. In return, they must demonstrate their benefit to the community through charity care, outreach, education, and research programs.
In 2003, Health First spent $81 million in charity care.
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