The Effect of the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid Expansion on Hospital Uncompensated Care

This project aims to accomplish three objectives: 1) document how the ACA’s Medicaid expansion has affected uncompensated care burdens of hospitals through 2015, 2) increase awareness of the effect of Medicaid expansion on hospital uncompensated care burden through dissemination of findings, and 3) engage in discussions on the broader set of issues surrounding why policymakers should care about hospital uncompensated care. Data for this study comes from the Medicare Cost Reports, 2011-2015.

The findings published in the Fund issue brief will raise public awareness about the impact of Medicaid expansions on hospital finances. Additionally, the brief will touch on the policy-relevant issue of what future research should focus on regarding how hospital finances impact hospital outcomes.