Kentucky Hospitals Economic Importance to Their Communities
Kentucky’s hospitals not only provide excellent patient care — they help local economies thrive. The data show hospitals are essential to a strong, vibrant Kentucky.
Workforce
Kentucky hospitals employ 95,000 people and spends $9 billion on wages and benefits.
The hospitals’ activities support 77,000 additional jobs within the state.
Community Investment
The hospitals spend $2 billion on capital projects, creating construction and supply chain jobs.
Their activities generate $1 billion in state and local taxes.
The hospitals also pay $196 million in provider taxes that support $892 million in Medicaid spending.
Patient Care
The hospitals provide $416 million in Uncompensated Care, Charity Care, and Financial Assistance.
The hospitals care for their communities by:
- Treating 542,000 inpatients and providing 12 million outpatient visits
- Welcoming 49,000 babies into the world
- Administering care for 2 million ER visits
Through hospital spending, employee spending, and community services, these dollars have a “ripple effect” as they move through the larger economy, supporting other businesses and jobs in the community creating a significant total impact on the state’s economy of:
$34
Billion
About the Data
Hospital data in this report are derived from the latest available data from the Medicare Cost Reports (capital expenditures, unreimbursed care), KHA InfoSuite (utilization), and data provided by hospitals. All other data are derived from IMPLAN (informed by Cost Report and hospital data).
The data in this report was prepared by the Kentucky Hospital Association using IMPLAN® model, 2023 Data, using inputs provided by Barry Kornstein, Consultant, and IMPLAN Group LLC, IMPLAN System (data and software), 16905 Northcross Dr., Suite 120, Huntersville, NC 28078 www.IMPLAN.com.
The report uses the IMPLAN calculation process to estimate the economic impact of hospital employment and operations spending. The regions for each county with a hospital are based on both hospital patient discharge data (resident county for each patient) and county-to-county commuting data from the U.S. Census Bureau (both in-commutes and out-commutes). The impacts represent the effects of hospitals located in the region’s central county throughout the region.