Community Benefit

Improving the health and wellness of our communities by reducing health vulnerabilities through accessible and high-quality care.
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We’re committed to improving the health of the communities we serve by increasing access to high-quality healthcare services and education. Each year, UnityPoint Health participates in, and hosts, a variety of community services, including outreach and health programs, health fairs and community events and classes. We believe we have a financial responsibility to the public to provide community benefits and resources, including financial assistance, by investing in programs and activities that provide treatment and/or promote health and wellness in response to identified community needs.

Community Benefit Criteria

A community benefit must address an identified community need and meet at least one of the following criteria: 

  • Generate a low or negative margin
  • Respond to needs of special populations, such as people living in poverty and other disenfranchised individuals
  • Supply services or programs that would likely be discontinued if the decision was made on a purely financial basis
  • Respond to public health needs
  • Involve education or research that improves overall community health

What a community benefit includes:

  • Financial assistance
  • Government-sponsored indigent health care - unpaid costs of public programs, such as Medicaid
  • State Children's Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP)
  • Medically indigent programs
  • Community benefit services

What a community benefit doesn't include:

  • Bad debt
  • Contractual allowances or quick-pay discounts
  • Any portion of financial assistance costs already included in the subsidized healthcare services category
  • Medicare shortfall 

What Qualifies as a Community Benefit Service 

The following qualify as a community benefit, if the program:

  • Addresses an identified community need
  • Includes low-income and underserved individuals
  • Has a relationship to the organization's mission
  • Meets a need that otherwise would need to be met by the government or another nonprofit organization 

The following don’t qualify as a community benefit, if the program is:

  • Provided for marketing purposes
  • For employees only
  • Required of all healthcare providers by rules or standards
  • Questionable as to whether it should be reported
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$672 Million

In 2021, UnityPoint Health contributed $672 million in financial assistance, community benefit, community building activities and other uncompensated care and taxes. This accounted for 13.9% of annual expenses for our organization.

Total Community Costs
Financial Assistance Cost $21,583,027
Un-reimbursed Medicaid and Other Means Tested $224,034,743
Community Health Improvement Services and Community Benefit Operations $10,024,471
Subsidized Health Services $35,827,102
Health Professionals Education $35,058,223

Research

$583,629

Cash and In-Kind Contributions to Community Groups

$46,995,572
Community Building Activities $2,964,023
Bad Debt at Cost $36,770,423
Medicare Shortfall* $104,984,970
Income, Property, Payroll and Sales Taxes $153,058,110
Total Operating Expenses

Salaries and Benefits

$2,973,456,000
Supplies $895,500,000
Other Expenses $739,857,000
Depreciation and Amortization $187,006,000
Interest $34,516,000
Total Expenses
Total 2021 Expenses $4,830,335,000