Study looks at impact of Medicaid expansion on hospitals in 2014

Medicaid expansion was associated with significant declines in uncompensated care costs and increases in Medicaid revenue in 2014 among hospitals in 19 states that expanded Medicaid early that year under the Affordable Care Act, according to a study reported today in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The hospitals had significantly increased Medicaid revenue and decreased uncompensated care costs compared with hospitals in 25 states that did not expand Medicaid in 2014, the author said. “Further study is needed to assess longer-term implications of this policy change on hospitals’ overall finances,” he noted.