The business and household needs of hospitals and their employees creates a “multiplier” effect that supports thousands of additional jobs, therefore extending the hospitals economic impact beyond salaries paid, according to the release. The IHA study found that for each job provided by Iowa hospitals, 2.06 additional jobs are created, creating an overall impact of more than $6.1 billion to Iowa’s economy.
The study also found that retail sales generated by hospitals and their employees exceed $1.9 billion, and this retail activity generates sales tax, a major revenue source for government, worth more than $117 million.
The IHA study also examined the economic impact of other sectors in the state’s healthcare industry, including nursing homes and residential care, pharmacies, ambulatory health care services, home healthcare services and physicians, dentists and other health practitioners. While hospitals were the greatest economic contributor to Iowa’s healthcare industry, the other sectors had a significant impact. For example, healthcare practitioners, such as physicians and dentists, directly and indirectly provide more than 77,000 jobs with an economic impact exceeding $4.2 billion. Similarly, nursing homes and other residential care providers create more than 83,000 jobs and add more than $2.4 billion to the economy.
Because of the “multiplier” effect, the IHA study found that healthcare in Iowa provides 354,000 jobs, or about one-fifth of Iowa’s total non-farm work force. In terms of economic impact, Iowa’s healthcare industry is worth $14.3 billion, according to the release.
Read the IHA’s release on Iowa hospitals’ economic impact.
