Essential Data 2023: Our Hospitals, Our Patients

The story of our members and the essential people and communities they serve
Cover of Essential Data: Our Hospitals, Our Patients

Essential Data, an annual snapshot of our more than 300 members and the people and communities they serve, tells the story of how essential hospitals overcome significant financial challenges to bring exceptional care to people who face social and economic barriers to good health and health care access.

Millions of people rely on essential hospitals for care across the continuum, jobs and economic activity, and front-line leadership during times of crisis.

This year’s report, based on data collected from our annual Member Characteristics Survey and federal and other national sources, captures essential hospitals’ work to increase access to high-quality care and specialty services, all while operating on margins of −8.6 percent compared with −1.4 percent for all other hospitals, based on Medicare cost report data.

Essential Data 2023: Our Hospitals, Our Patients, also found essential hospitals:

  • Provided nearly $9 billion in uncompensated care — nearly a quarter of all uncompensated care provided by acute-care hospitals nationwide despite representing just 5 percent of hospitals.
  • Served communities in which 14.6 million individuals live below the poverty line, 5.4 million struggle with food insecurity, and nearly three-quarters of patients were uninsured or covered by Medicaid or Medicare.
  • Accounted for nearly a third of the nation’s level I trauma centers and 45 percent of burn care beds.
  • Trained nearly four times as many physician residents as other U.S. teaching hospitals.

Infographics and narrative stories throughout the report illustrate the findings, documenting the vital role essential hospitals play in caring for under-resourced people and communities.

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