Nonprofit academic health systems and teaching hospitals play a unique role in their communities. At these institutions, expert physicians train the doctors of tomorrow and deliver patient care informed by the latest research and scientists.
It is only in academic medicine that the missions of education, medical research, patient care, and community collaboration (PDF) coalesce for the benefit of patients and communities. Simply put, the work of nonprofit academic health systems and teaching hospitals improves and increases access to care.
Academic health systems and teaching hospitals devote substantial resources to provide not only charity care but also far-reaching community benefits. Supporting the medical research and education missions — without which our nation’s health care system would quickly decline — is a vital part of the IRS-defined “community benefit” (PDF) that nonprofit teaching hospitals provide, making an impact far beyond just charity care.
Nonprofit academic health systems and teaching hospitals also deliver critical services — such as psychiatric care and those provided at Level I trauma centers and burn units — that for-profit hospitals and other health systems largely avoid. AAMC-member teaching health systems and hospitals serve a disproportionate share of vulnerable patients in their hospital outpatient departments. These settings and the health care providers who practice there have the clinical resources, expertise, and experience necessary to care for sicker, costlier, and higher-cost patients compared with nonteaching hospitals. Data show that patient mortality is lower at teaching hospitals (PDF) as well.
Academic health systems and teaching hospitals also work to address social determinants of health, including increasing access to healthier food and partnerships to address transportation and housing needs for patients.
Clinical Benefits Beyond Charity Care
Community benefits provided by nonprofit academic health systems and teaching hospitals reach far beyond charity care to improve the lives of patients.
The AAMC Research and Action Institute published a 2024 data snapshot that delves into the often misunderstood benefits of nonprofit hospitals. The research snapshot found that nonprofit teaching hospitals are much more likely than for-profit hospitals to offer a range of complex, essential services provided at birthing centers, psychiatric units, transplant centers, substance use disorder clinics, Level I trauma centers, and burn units.
That’s why the AAMC has been relentless in advocating to uphold the tax-exempt status of the nation’s nonprofit teaching hospitals. "We strive every day to meet not just the letter of the law, but the intent of the law, and that goes far beyond providing care for the uninsured,” says Atul Grover, MD, PhD, executive director of the AAMC Research and Action Institute.
AAMC Briefing: Beyond the Bottom Line
To better illustrate this concept of community benefit uniquely provided by academic health systems and teaching hospitals and to educate Congress about the vital role AAMC-member institutions play in advancing the health and well-being of patients and communities, the AAMC held a Dec. 3, 2024, congressional briefing (video).
Drawing on experts from across the nation, this session provided attendees with a greater understanding of the unique contributions of nonprofit teaching hospitals, as well as the unintended consequences of revising teaching hospital eligibility for tax exemption.
Find highlights from the AAMC congressional briefing here:
- Atul Grover, MD, PhD, FACP, FCCP explains the importance of protecting the tax-exempt status (video).
- Danielle Turnipseed, JD, MHSA, MPP, AAMC chief public policy officer, describes how we strengthen communities across the country (video).
- Donald Brady, MD, executive vice president for educational affairs and medical staff affairs at AAMC-member Vanderbilt University Medical Center, explains the danger of cutting nonprofit hospitals (video).
Additional Reading
- Hospital Service Offerings Still Differ Substantially by Ownership Type. Health Affairs, March 2022.
- Threatening Nonprofit Hospital Tax Exemption: A Better Path Forward. JAMA viewpoint, January 2024.