Hospitals' uncompensated care costs fell by $7.4B last year

Uncompensated care costs at U.S. hospitals fell by an estimated $7.4 billion in 2014 due to the expansion of healthcare coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, according to a recent report from HHS' Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.

ASPE estimated hospitals' uncompensated care costs would have been $34.7 billion in 2014 if the uninsured rate had remained at its 2013 level. However, actual uncompensated care costs for 2014 were estimated to be $27.3 billion.

The majority of the estimated savings ($5 billion) came from states that have expanded Medicaid, representing a 26 percent reduction in uncompensated care costs in those states.

There was also an estimated $5.5 billion reduction in charity care costs at hospitals across the country in 2014, according to the report.

More articles on healthcare finance:

Details on Banner Health's $86M facility in Colorado released
Henry Ford Health System posts $27.8M surplus
5 hospital CFOs in the headlines this week

Copyright © 2024 Becker's Healthcare. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Linking and Reprinting Policy.

 

Featured Whitepapers

Featured Webinars