Community Benefit Financials
Traditional charity care covers health care services provided to patients who cannot afford to pay and who meet certain other criteria.
Community Benefit
(Dollars in millions)
The following is a summary of Sutter Health's estimated costs of providing services to the poor and broader community.
| Services for the poor and underserved | 2010 | 2009 |
| Traditional charity care | $121 | $105 |
| Unpaid costs of public programs: | ||
| Medi-Cal | 432 | 350 |
| Other public programs | 40 | 34 |
| Other benefits | 32 | 36 |
| Total services for the poor and underserved | 625 | 525 |
| Benefits for the broader community | ||
| Nonbilled services | 22 | 23 |
| Education and research | 95 | 90 |
| Cash and in-kind donations | 7 | 10 |
| Other community benefits | 2 | 2 |
| Total benefits for the broader community | 126 | 125 |
| Total community benefit | $751 | $650 |
Services for the poor and underserved includes traditional charity care which covers health care services provided to persons who meet certain criteria and cannot afford to pay, as well as the unpaid costs of public programs treating Medi-Cal and indigent beneficiaries. Costs are computed based on a relationship of costs to charges. Services for the poor and underserved also include the cost of other services provided to persons who cannot affort health care because of inadequate resources and are uninsured or underinsured, and cash donations on behalf of the poor and needy.
Benefits for the broader community includes costs of providing the following services: health screenings and other health-related services, training health professionals, educating the community with various seminars and classes, the cost of performing medical research and the costs associated with providing free clinics and community services. Benefits for the broader community also includes contributions Sutter Health makes to community agencies to fund charitable activities.