Hospitals’ unpaid bills fall under Obamacare

Hospitals in states that expanded Medicaid to their poorest residents faced about $ 5 billion less in unpaid bills last year — about twice the reduction as those that did not expand this health care coverage, according to a new federal report.

The Department of Health and Human Services released the report at a Virginia event marking the fifth anniversary of the Affordable Care Act. The ACA expanded Medicaid, but a Supreme Court decision gave states the option of offering Medicaid to all of their citizens or not, and so far 22 states have not done so.

States that didn’t expand Medicaid saw a $ 2.4 billion decline in “uncompensated care” costs. Non- profit hospitals, which make up the vastmajority of hospitals, are required to treat everyone who shows up in their emergency rooms, regardless of ability to pay. People who don’t have insurance or who can’t afford their deductibles or co- payments make up these uncompensated costs.

Hospitals provided more than $ 50 billion in uncompensated care in 2013, an amount that is only partly offset by the government.

In addition to the impact on local, state and federal budgets, and doctors and hospitals, HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell noted uncompensated care is also covered by higher premiums for employer- provided insurance policies.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat who has pushed for Medicaid expansion in his state, says he expects Medicaid expansion to have a better chance after the 2016 elections than it did after his election in 2014, when he was told it had “zero chance of passing.”