Montana's nonprofit hospitals provided about 8 percent of their total annual expenses to community benefits in 2019, compared with the 2018 national average of 10 percent, according to a Dec. 9 Kaiser Health News analysis.
Billings Clinic provided 5 percent of its operating costs to community benefits, according to the analysis, based on hospitals' IRS filings ending 2019. Helena-based St. Peter's Health and Great Falls-based Benefis Health System gave less than 2 percent. St. Luke Hospital in Ronan, meanwhile, provided 22 percent.
Nonprofit Montana hospitals are not subject to much oversight when it comes to charity care, according to Kaiser Health News. There is also a flexible definition of community benefits, such as including staff training costs.
"Walmart trains their employees, for-profit hospitals train their employees, so it makes no sense to me why a nonprofit hospital should be able to call this 'community benefit,' " Gerard Anderson, health policy professor at Johns Hopkins University, told Kaiser Health News.
Billings Clinic director of reimbursement JJ Carmody told Kaiser Health News the health system provided more than $36 million in community benefits in 2019. Part of the contributions were $12.7 million in financial aid and $3.6 million for health professional training.
"That's significant, and I also believe that's fair," Mr. Carmody said. "That's a large portion of our profit that's dedicated to community benefit."
Read more here.