logo
Des Moines hospitals top Iowa's "fair share" charity deficit list

Des Moines hospitals top Iowa's "fair share" charity deficit list

Axios16-04-2025

Two major Des Moines hospitals fell $70 million short on community support despite tax breaks, according to a report released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Lown Institute.
Why it matters: The gap raises questions about whether tax breaks are doing their job — and whether vulnerable Iowans are paying the price.
Driving the news: UnityPoint Health's Iowa Methodist Medical Center and MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center had the state's most significant gaps between the value of their tax exemptions and what they spend on charity care and community investment — $47 million and $23 million, respectively.
Of the tax records of 56 Iowa nonprofit hospitals analyzed in the report, 70% had deficits, totaling a charitable shortfall of $162 million a year.
Zoom in: Iowa's hospitals received $331 million in tax breaks yearly, with property tax exemptions making up the largest proportion.
UnityPoint owns $500 million worth of real estate in the metro while MercyOne owns $360 million, according to the report.
The big picture: Lown found an overall annual charitable deficit of $11.5 billion among the more than 1,800 nonprofit hospitals across 20 states it reviewed.
It concluded that that's enough to feed more than a third of all food-insecure people or build 150,000 more affordable housing units.
What they're saying: Iowa could improve accountability by setting minimum eligibility standards for financial assistance and requiring hospitals to screen patients for assistance to ensure all eligible patients receive discounts.
The report's authors wrote that policymakers should address misaligned incentives in hospital business models.
A spokesperson for MercyOne said the hospital could not immediately respond to Axios' requests for comment on Tuesday, and UnityPoint did not reply to a request for comment.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Disability rights advocates encourage senators to vote against Big, Beautiful, Bill
Disability rights advocates encourage senators to vote against Big, Beautiful, Bill

Yahoo

time4 days ago

  • Yahoo

Disability rights advocates encourage senators to vote against Big, Beautiful, Bill

IOWA (KCAU) — Disability rights advocates joined forces on June 5. They encouraged Iowa senators to vote against the president's so-called 'Big, Beautiful, Bill' due to the ramifications Iowans would face. The group 'Protect Our Care Iowa' said that the bill would cut Medicaid to over 600k Iowans, including 81k people with disabilities. Advocates for the bill say it cuts waste, fraud, and abuse, but the group says it's a way to cut services to the most vulnerable and offer tax cuts to the wealthy. Zach Mecham, medicaid recipient and disability rights advocate, said, 'I know throughout my history of disability advocacy that all of these policies, whether they're aimed at efficiency, or fraud, or abuse, or privatizing healthcare. I know that they all, based on my personal experience, trickle down and harm people like me.' The bill is in the hands of the U.S. Senate. Lawmakers said their goal is for it to be on the President's desk by the Fourth of July. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Newton nonprofit holds fundraiser to install safe haven baby box
Newton nonprofit holds fundraiser to install safe haven baby box

Yahoo

time6 days ago

  • Yahoo

Newton nonprofit holds fundraiser to install safe haven baby box

NEWTON, Iowa — A nonprofit in Newton is halfway to its fundraising goal for a safe haven baby box to be installed at the community's hospital. The plan was first presented in 2024 when Jasper County Attorney General Scott Nicholson brought the idea to the Open Arms Foundation of Jasper County, a nonprofit that provides support for children facing crisis or are in the foster care system. Open Arms was founded last year and provides backpacks with necessary supplies and comfort items to children who were removed from their biological families. So far, the nonprofit has helped 200 children and families, according to founder and director Nick Pietrack. At the beginning of 2025, Open Arms started fundraising for a baby box in Newton. Their goal is $30,000. Pietrack says the box is estimated to cost $20,000, plus $500 in annual fees for maintenance, training, certification, and other expenses. His goal is to raise enough that the cost is covered for many years. Sen. Joni Ernst responds to backlash from her sarcastic comments on Medicaid Around $15,000 has been raised so far, but the organization plans on fundraising for the rest of the year. Pietrack said the baby box will be installed in Newton even if the fundraising goal isn't met, but he commends the community's ability to come together in support of this cause. 'I've seen a tremendous ability in Jasper County for us to gather our community for positive things. So, it's very heartwarming and wonderful to see the support and we're excited about it,' he said. The baby box will be located at the MercyOne Newton Medical Center. Pietrack said the current plan is to have the box located outside the emergency room and near the ambulance bays, however the hospital will be remodeling soon, so the exact location in the hospital is subject to change. 'We want to be proactive, not reactive. So, the reason for some of the baby boxes being installed in other communities are reactive towards horrible incidences that have happened, tragic deaths of infant children,' he said. Newton is now the fourth Iowa community to start the process of installing a baby box. The Iowa Safe Haven Act went into effect in 2002, and it provides parents in crisis an option to safely surrender an infant up to 90-days-old. The law was expanded in 2023, allowing communities to implement their own safe haven baby boxes. Since then, baby boxes were installed at the Fort Dodge Fire Department and the MercyOne Medical Center in Des Moines. The Norwalk Fire Department announced last year that they are in the process of installing a baby box as a result of a baby's death in 2023. The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services announced on Monday that a baby girl was recently surrendered safely through the Safe Haven Law. She is the third infant to be surrendered this year and the 77th since the law was put into effect, according to the department's press release. Iowa News: Iowa veteran passes halfway point on Appalachian Trail Newton nonprofit holds fundraiser to install safe haven baby box Storms move in, along with cooler air Miguel Angel Jimenez wins playoff in Iowa for 3rd PGA Tour Champions victory of the year Forecast: Smoke exits, storms move in Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

GOP Senator Insists She's ‘Very Compassionate' After Telling Worried Voters They're Going to Die
GOP Senator Insists She's ‘Very Compassionate' After Telling Worried Voters They're Going to Die

Yahoo

time6 days ago

  • Yahoo

GOP Senator Insists She's ‘Very Compassionate' After Telling Worried Voters They're Going to Die

Under-fire Sen. Joni Ernst has defended herself once more after going viral for telling constituents concerned about cuts to Medicaid that 'We're all going to die.' While being pursued by reporters in the U.S. Capitol, the Iowa Republican said: 'I'm very compassionate, and you need to listen to the entire conversation.' Ernst managed to also get out that 'we want to protect the most vulnerable' before elevator doors closed behind her. The GOP senator has been widely criticized for flippant comments she made at a town hall in Butler County, Iowa, last Friday in response to people expressing concerns that may die if they lose access to health care under cuts proposed in President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act. 'Well, we all are going to die, so for heaven's sakes,' Ernst said. She later added: 'We are going to focus on those that are most vulnerable' and 'those that meet the eligibility requirements for Medicaid we will protect.' Ernst responded to the condemnation over her callous remarks by posting a sarcastic apology video on Instagram which appeared to have been filmed in a graveyard. 'I made an incorrect assumption that everyone in the auditorium understood that, yes, we are all going to perish from this Earth,' she said. 'So I apologize, and I'm really, really glad that I did not have to bring up the subject of the tooth fairy as well.' The comments from Ersnt angered Iowa Democratic state Rep. J.D. Scholten so much that he confirmed a bid to unseat the Republican when her term expires next year. 'I just felt, you know, I have to do this,' Scholten told Politico, adding Ernst had 'disrespected' Iowans with her remarks. Trump's megabill needs to clear the Senate, where it faces potential pushback from several Republicans over the proposed cuts on Medicaid spending and introduction of new work requirements. Ernst defended the potential changes during the town hall last week, saying they were necessary to keep people who are 'not eligible' from receiving such benefits. A spokesperson for Ernst previously told the Daily Beast: 'While Democrats fearmonger against strengthening the integrity of Medicaid, Senator Ernst is focused on improving the lives of all Iowans. 'There's only two certainties in life: death and taxes, and she's working to ease the burden of both by fighting to keep more of Iowans' hard-earned tax dollars in their own pockets and ensuring their benefits are protected from waste, fraud, and abuse.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store