An Obamacare winner: Safety-net hospitals

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/05/24/obamacare-safety-net-hospitals-uninsured/9456671/

'At Seattle's largest safety-net hospital, the proportion of uninsured patients fell from 12% last year to an unprecedented low of 2% this spring — a drop expected to boost Harborview Medical Center's revenue by $20 million this year.

The share of uninsured patients was cut roughly in half this year at two other major safety net hospitals — Denver Health in Colorado and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Hospital (UAMS) in Little Rock.

One of the biggest beneficiaries of the health law's expansion of coverage to more than 13 million people this year has been the nation's safety-net hospitals, which treat a disproportionate share of poor and uninsured people and therefore face billions of dollars in unpaid bills.

Such facilities had expected to see a drop in uninsured patients seeking treatment, but the change has been faster and deeper than most anticipated — at least in the 25 states that expanded Medicaid in January, according to interviews with safety-net hospital officials across the country.

"This is really phenomenal," said Ellen Kugler, executive director of the National Association of Urban Hospitals, based in Sterling, Va., which represents inner-city safety net institutions. "It shows the Affordable Care Act is clearly working in these locations."..."

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Floridatexan wrote:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/05/24/obamacare-safety-net-hospitals-uninsured/9456671/

'At Seattle's largest safety-net hospital, the proportion of uninsured patients fell from 12% last year to an unprecedented low of 2% this spring — a drop expected to boost Harborview Medical Center's revenue by $20 million this year.

The share of uninsured patients was cut roughly in half this year at two other major safety net hospitals — Denver Health in Colorado and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Hospital (UAMS) in Little Rock.

One of the biggest beneficiaries of the health law's expansion of coverage to more than 13 million people this year has been the nation's safety-net hospitals, which treat a disproportionate share of poor and uninsured people and therefore face billions of dollars in unpaid bills.

Such facilities had expected to see a drop in uninsured patients seeking treatment, but the change has been faster and deeper than most anticipated — at least in the 25 states that expanded Medicaid in January, according to interviews with safety-net hospital officials across the country.

"This is really phenomenal," said Ellen Kugler, executive director of the National Association of Urban Hospitals, based in Sterling, Va., which represents inner-city safety net institutions. "It shows the Affordable Care Act is clearly working in these locations."..."

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Funny, this says the opposite.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/26/us/hospitals-look-to-health-law-cutting-charity.html?_r=0

Hospitals Look to Health Law, Cutting Charity



Hospital systems around the country have started scaling back financial assistance for lower- and middle-income people without health insurance, hoping to push them into signing up for coverage through the new online marketplaces created under the Affordable Care Act.

The trend is troubling to advocates for the uninsured, who say raising fees will inevitably cause some to skip care rather than buy insurance that they consider unaffordable. Though the number of hospitals tightening access to free or discounted care appears limited so far, many say they are considering doing so, and experts predict that stricter policies will become increasingly common

Its gonna be a scream when the obamacaid bill comes due.

http://www.heritage.org/multimedia/infographic/2013/03/medicaid-expansion/Oregon

However, I think this poster on that article said it best.

Yet another piece of propaganda for Obamacare!

I wonder how many will cry out loud before the presidential election?

http://www.pottsmerc.com/government-and-politics/20140527/medicaid-surge-caused-by-obamacare-triggers-cost-concerns-for-states