Community Benefits

Wisconsin hospitals and health systems are doing more than just treating their patients – they help them find ways to pay for life-saving medication, put food on their table, or have a roof over their head

WHA annually surveys its member hospitals about the social services and charity work they perform each year using the Community Benefits Inventory for Social Accountability (CIBSA) statewide survey tool developed by Lyons Software. Wisconsin is one of a handful of states in the U.S. where 100% of the hospitals voluntarily report community benefits.

Learn more about the great work our hospitals and health systems are doing for their patients – and the important social and economic impact they have on their communities!

WI Hospitals Provided More Than $2.3 Billion in Community Benefits in FY 2023

Charity Care (at cost)
$168,268,524
Medicaid Shortfalls
$1,570,643,485
Losses on Other Public Programs
$25,585,526
Subsidized Health Services
$109,894,836
Nursing Home Losses
$18,063,381
Community Health Improvement Services
$64,200,802
Donations, research, education, operations, activities
$391,951,904
TOTAL
$2,348,608,458

UWPHI Website Facilitates Health Improvement Collaboration Statewide

The University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute has compiled community health needs assessments (CHNA/CHA) and community health improvement plans (CHIP) from hospitals and health departments across the state into a website for easy access: http://www.improvingwihealth.org.

This website is organized to allow people interested in a particular health priority area to identify other communities across the state that are also working on that priority.