Report: Nonprofit hospitals' value to communities 10 times their federal tax exemption

An EY report prepared for the AHA shows that tax-exempt hospitals and health systems delivered $10 in benefits to their communities for every dollar's worth of federal tax exemption in 2020, the most recent year for which comprehensive data is available. It represents an increase from $9 in benefits from the prior year despite efforts in battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2020, the estimated federal tax revenue forgone due to the tax-exempt status of nonprofit hospitals was $13.2 billion, according to the report. In comparison, the benefit tax-exempt hospitals provided to their communities, as reported on the Form 990 Schedule H, was estimated to be $129 billion, nearly 10 times greater than the value of tax revenue forgone.

"All of America's hospitals and health systems are cornerstones of their communities - delivering not only around-the-clock care and essential services but a broad range of critical health, social and other programs that advance community health," said AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack. "Nonprofit hospitals have a special obligation to those they serve and this new analysis from EY shows these efforts are more than a worthy investment and that improving the health of their communities remains at the heart of the mission of the hospital field."