Texas medical schools, teaching hospitals make major economic impact

(COLLEGE STATION, TX) — A new report from the Association of American Medical Colleges reveals its member medical schools and teaching hospitals, including the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, had a combined economic impact of $451 billion on their states and the United States in 2005.

In Texas, the HSC-COM and other academic medical centers statewide had a combined economic impact of $26,609,644,415. Texas medical schools and major teaching hospitals are directly and indirectly responsible for more than 177,096 full-time jobs. HSC-COM directly employs more than 275 people, while its clinical teaching partners employ thousands more.

Nationally, the report found the 125 accredited U.S. medical schools and more than 400 major teaching hospitals represented by AAMC employ nearly 1.67 million individuals and are directly and indirectly responsible for more than three million full-time jobs – one out of every 48 U.S. wage earners.

The overall economic impact of institutions such as the HSC-COM on Texas and the national economy takes into account the direct and indirect business volume generated by medical schools and teaching hospitals, including institutional spending, employee spending and spending by patients, their families and visitors (excluding spending for patient care and medical services). According to the report, every dollar spent by a medical school or teaching hospital indirectly generates an additional $1.30 when it is “re-spent” on other businesses or individuals, resulting in a total impact of $2.30 per dollar.

Texas medical schools and teaching hospitals also generated more than $816 million in state tax revenue in 2005 through income and sales taxes, corporate income taxes, and capital stock/franchise taxes paid by businesses that collect revenue from state institutions.

HSC-COM and other Texas academic medical centers generated more than $870 million in out-of-state medical visitor-related revenue in 2005, including direct spending in local communities by out-of-state patients and their friends and families.

The AAMC report, “The Economic Impact of AAMC-Member Medical Schools and Teaching Hospitals,” does not include the economic impact of patient care-related spending at hospitals, nor does it account for the economic benefits of physician training programs and community service programs such as the HSC-COM Health Circus or Mini-Medical School. This report was prepared for the AAMC by the consulting firm Tripp Umbach.