HHS estimates 2014 reduction in hospital uncompensated care costs under ACA

Hospital uncompensated care costs were about 21%, or $7.4 billion, lower in 2014 due to gains in health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act, according to a report released today by the Department of Health and Human Services. More than two-thirds of the estimated reduction ($5 billion) was in states opting to expand Medicaid to uninsured low-income adults. “If non-expansion states had proportionately as large increases in Medicaid coverage as did expansion states, their uncompensated care costs would have declined by an additional $1.4 billion,” the agency estimates. A second HHS report looks at the economic impact of Medicaid expansion, including jobs and federal funding. For example, states that chose not to expand their Medicaid programs as of July 2014 were expected to forego an estimated $88 billion in federal funding from 2014-2016 and reduce the nation’s economic output by about $66 billion, HHS notes. The report includes a summary of state-specific impacts for 26 states that commissioned independent studies.