Key Facts About America's Safety Net Health Systems

Safety net health care systems are the thousands of public hospitals, teaching hospitals and nonprofit health care providers who care for all regardless of their ability to pay. We provide emergency services, primary care, specialized disease management, neonatal units, trauma centers and burn units—all of which improve the health of individuals and promote the economic health of communities throughout America.

Quality care for all, including those most vulnerable to a lack of care.

• We care about healthy people, some times at the expense of healthy profits. As public and nonprofit entities, we provide the full range of quality care people need to be healthy and productive—and we deliver it in ways that are health effective and economically efficient.
• Because we care for all, we care for more of the people others care less about. Nearly half of the services we provide are for low-income patients, 27% for Medicaid patients and 19% for the uninsured. Although they represent just 2% of the hospitals in our country, our member hospitals provide 19% of all hospital-based uncompensated care.
• We make the health care system work. We’re a lifeline for uninsured, underinsured and patients who don’t know how to navigate the health care system. We’re also a safety net for a health care system that is the most sophisticated and expensive in the world, yet has not managed to provide universal access to all its citizens.

Essential services everyone counts on.

• We provide 6.4 million emergency department visits each year;
• We deliver essential community health services such as burn, trauma, neonatal intensive care and emergency preparedness;
• We cut expensive and inefficient use of hospital services by providing nearly 37 million outpatient visits each year;
• We train tomorrow’s health professionals today. 82% of the nation’s public hospitals are teaching hospitals that train the next generation of physicians, dentists and other health care professionals—as well as help develop groundbreaking advances in medical treatment.

Essential for healthy local economies.

• Safety net hospitals are major employers in their communities. NAPH member hospitals yield over 1 million jobs, nearly $58 billion in labor income, and produce more than $133 billion in total economic output nationwide.
• Advancing the health of individuals advances the health of communities and the nation. Keeping everyone healthy keeps them productive and helps them contribute to the economic health of their communities.

We have a wealth of expertise to share.

• Many are talking about universal access through health care reform, but few know how to provide it. We do. We can show you how to care for all in a health effective and cost efficient way.

For specific media assistance, please contact Brigette Settles Scott, Assistant Vice President for Communications at 202-585-0102.