Intermountain tells Davis County officials Layton Hospital provided $4.6M in charity care and plans clinic, behavioral‑health expansions

Intermountain Health representatives told the Davis County Commission on Sept. 16 that Layton Hospital provided $4,600,000 in charity care last year across 6,870 charity‑care cases and that the system’s 2023 community‑benefit total was $746,000,000.

"Last year, Layton Hospital provided $4,600,000 in charitable care to members of the community," said Kelly Duffin, president of Layton Hospital. Duffin contrasted the hospital’s reported community‑benefit figures with an estimated $469,000,000 in equivalent taxes for the Intermountain system in 2023.

Why it matters: Hospitals that claim nonprofit status must meet state standards to qualify for property‑tax exemptions. Duffin told the commission the hospital meets the required criteria and presents annually to the county; she noted that, for the specific services qualifying as charity care, Layton Hospital estimated the equivalent property‑tax obligation at roughly $1,900,000.

Details from the presentation: Duffin and Intermountain staff described multiple components of community benefit. They reported roughly $34,000,000 in discounts from retail charges (reported in one slide as $38,000,000 total community benefit for that line), and said the hospital reinvested about $7,000,000 in capital improvements last year for new equipment, expanded labor‑and‑delivery capacity, emergency‑department expansion and additional surge rooms.

Hospital staff distinguished charity care from bad debt: charity care is provided under a pre‑service qualification process, while bad debt is written off after services are rendered. Duffin said Intermountain’s model automatically qualifies patients at 150% of the federal poverty level and applies a graded charity‑care scale up to 277% of the poverty level.

Service planning and expansions: The presentation outlined an emphasis on placing outpatient and ambulatory services closer to where people live. Duffin said Intermountain bought land in the Farmington Station area with the intention of building a clinic that will include behavioral‑health outpatient services. She also noted a recently opened Primary Children’s outpatient behavioral‑health campus that adds capacity for Northern Utah.

Rural support and telehealth: Intermountain described telehealth services and system scale as supports for rural hospitals, allowing remote access to cardiology, neurology and other subspecialists and helping some smaller hospitals remain financially viable.

Cost trends and insurance impact: County HR and benefits staff told presenters they expect premium increases of about 11–12 percent. Duffin acknowledged rising costs and said Intermountain pursues two strategies — simplification (efficiency) and proactive, preventive care — to help bend the cost curve and lower unit costs by shifting appropriate care to less expensive outpatient settings.

Questions from commissioners and staff: Commissioners asked about future growth, trauma‑level capacity and whether uncompensated care will increase. On trends for uncollected/uncompensated care, Duffin said the amount typically increases modestly year over year, "about 5%," and emphasized efforts to qualify eligible patients for charity care.

Public and personal testimony: Commissioner John Props recounted a personal account of care: "The Katy Hospital saved his life," praising local hospital staff after describing a relative’s traumatic injury and recovery. (That comment was offered as a resident testimonial during the presentation.)

Next steps and procedural notes: Presenters said the Farmington clinic groundbreaking date had not been finalized and would be announced publicly when available. No formal action, vote or directive was recorded on the agenda item. The meeting adjourned at 09:15.