Medicaid Supply of Medical Services

Docs benefiting from Medicaid Expansions

PwC’s Health Research Institute reports that times are good if you are a safety net provider in a state that expanded Medicaid coverage:

Physicians, hospitals and health systems operating in the 26 states and the District of Columbia that pursued the option to broaden Medicaid coverage with federal dollars have seen a significant rise in paying customers and volume, while dramatically reducing uncompensated care levels. This year alone LifePoint Hospitals has seen a 30.3% reduction in its uninsured and charity care patients, according to reports filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and data released during their second quarter earnings call.

On the other hand, things aren’t as rosy if you are a hospital in a state that did not expand Medicaid rolls.

The growth in Medicaid expansion states starkly contrasts the experience in the 24 states that did not expand the joint federal-state health program. In those states, hospitals continued to see
flat or sagging admission rates and little reduction in the number of uninsured, largely non-paying patients.

Doctors, hospitals and patients benefit from increasing Medicaid coverage, but taxpayers must foot the bill for the additional insurance coverage. Is expanding Medicaid worth the cost? Twenty six states think yes and 24 think no.

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