Pa. Hospitals Generate Billions in Community, Economic Benefits

Report finds hospitals support communities through $182 billion economic impact, more than 590,000 jobs, and $9 billion community benefit

Harrisburg, PA (October 17, 2023) – Pennsylvania hospitals invested $9 billion in strengthening the health of their communities while supporting 1 in 10 jobs statewide and one-fifth of the commonwealth’s gross domestic product, an analysis released today by The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) found.

The analysis of fiscal year (FY) 2022 data by the HAP Center for Health Policy Research reveals that Pennsylvania hospitals—both directly and through the ripple effects of their economic activity—benefitted their communities and the commonwealth by:

• Contributing $182 billion to the state and local economies.
• Supporting more than 590,000 jobs throughout the entire commonwealth.
• Generating $37.4 billion in wages, salaries, and benefits.

Hospitals’ $9 billion community benefit includes investments in areas such as enhancing community health, providing charity care to patients in need, training and educating the next generation of health care professionals, conducting lifesaving medical research, and absorbing costs associated with caring for millions of Pennsylvanians covered by Medicare and Medicaid.

“Hospitals are fundamental to the health and stability of Pennsylvania communities,” said HAP President and CEO Nicole Stallings. “Even as they confront a historic health care workforce emergency, hospitals remain top employers in their communities. To preserve access to high-quality care, good-paying jobs, and economic opportunity, we must make a long-term commitment to support and grow patient care teams and ensure hospitals can sustainably serve their communities.”

Additional key findings of the analysis include:

• Hospitals’ economic impact has increased 76 percent over the past decade.
• 58 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties have at least one hospital among their top 10 employers and in 21 of them, a hospital is the largest employer.
• Pennsylvania hospital jobs pay, on average, about 10 percent higher than the statewide average wage for all sectors.
• Hospitals invested $1.2 billion educating the next generation of health professionals.
• Hospitals provided nearly $398 million in charity care and invested close to $430 million in programs to benefit their communities.
• Hospitals and universities with hospital-affiliated medical schools secured nearly $1.9 billion in highly competitive federal research funding to advance health care innovation.

The report, an infographic summary, and an interactive web page are available online.