Affordable Care Act Could Add $15 Billion Annually to Community Health Programs

Here's something interesting. I spoke with a man deeply involved in community health organizations. He believes the Affordable Care Act is going to result in a 15 billion dollar ANNUAL infusion into community health programs for health outreach, education, and prevention.

Follow along here -->

There are 3000 non profit hospitals in the United States of America. They don't pay taxes. But to keep their non profit status, they need to use 6% of their money for community health benefits. 6% needs to go to helping the community.

Currently, only 6% of that 6% goes to community programs aimed at education, outreach, and prevention.

56% of that 6% goes to charitable care. Charitable care is usually where the hospital writes off as community health benefits the unrecoverable costs incurred from serving people without insurance.

But what if the number of uninsured people goes way down? If suddenly there are 35,000,000 fewer uninsured people?

Ah...then the hospitals have less in the way of Charitable Care they can write of.

But they still need to contribute 6% of their earnings to the community or they lose their tax exempt status...so they're going to route MORE of their money to community programs aimed at health education, outreach, and prevention.

The potential number to be infused into community health programs could reach as high as $15 billion.

Not bad.