Community Benefit

Charity Care

In the most recently completed fiscal year (FY 2009), Mercy Medical Center provided $6,593,895 in community benefits and uncompensated bad debt for the residents of the tri-state area.  That amount included $1,071,934 in charity care (at cost), $496,949 in Medicaid shortfalls, $1,838,000 in programs for the poor and under-served, $543,584 in programs for the broader community and $2,643,428 in uncompensated bad debts.  If the unpaid cost of Medicare patients of $6,401,537 is included, the total uncompensated care totaled  $12,995,432.

Mercy is a not-for-profit hospital, which means that the money earned from providing patient care is reinvested back into the community by providing new technology, upgrading facilities, and making sure that care is provided to all patients, regardless of their ability to pay.  Mercy works to improve the health of the community by providing a range of services including programs to manage persons with chronic diseases, health education and disease prevention initiatives, outreach services for the elderly, and care for persons who are poor or uninsured.