University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, the state’s only comprehensive academic medical center, provides $173.5 million in benefits to Iowa communities, according to an annual assessment of those programs and services.

That amount, based on FY2011 figures, includes uncompensated care and free or discounted community benefits that UI Hospitals and Clinics specifically implemented to help Iowa residents.

“This report demonstrates our impact throughout the state and commitment to serving Iowans,” said Jean Robillard, M.D., UI vice president for medical affairs. “It is proof that the investment of Iowans in their hospitals pays off many times over.”

Community benefits are activities that help improve health status and increase access to health care. Along with uncompensated care (which includes both charity care and bad debt), community benefits include such services and programs as health screenings, support groups, counseling, immunizations, nutritional services, and transportation programs.

The results for UI Hospitals and Clinics are included in a statewide report by the Iowa Hospital Association that shows Iowa hospitals provided community benefits in FY2011 valued at more than $1.4 billion, including nearly $600 million in charity care. All 118 of Iowa’s community hospitals participated in the survey.

Leaders of Iowa hospitals say the ability of Iowa hospitals to respond to such needs is being hindered by the ongoing economic downturn as well as by losses inflicted upon hospitals by Medicare and Medicaid reductions, totaling more than $274 million, representing a 5.8 percent increase over last year’s report. More than 60 percent of all hospital revenue in Iowa comes from Medicare and Medicaid.

Despite those challenges, Iowa hospitals continue to develop ways to raise quality, reduce waste, and increase safety. Iowa hospitals have become value leaders, according to multiple studies by the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care and the Commonwealth Fund.