Hospitals and Medicaid Expansion – IRP Poverty Dispatch

Hospitals see major drop in charity care, September 24, 2014, The Tennessean: “The number of uninsured patients admitted to hospitals has dropped markedly this year, reducing charity care and bad debt cases, particularly in states that have expanded Medicaid coverage under the new federal health care law, a government report released Wednesday found. The report from the Department of Health and Human Services said hospitals in states that have taken advantage of new Medicaid eligibility levels have seen uninsured admissions fall by about 30 percent. The report estimated that the cost of uncompensated hospital care will be $5.7 billion lower in 2014…”
Affordable Care Act reduces costs for hospitals, report says, By Robert Pear, September 24, 2014, New York Times: “The Obama administration increased the pressure on states to expand Medicaid on Wednesday, citing new evidence that hospitals reap financial benefits and gain more paying customers when states broaden eligibility. In states that have expanded Medicaid, the White House said, hospitals are seeing substantial reductions in ‘uncompensated care’ as more patients have Medicaid coverage and fewer are uninsured…”