- Center on Health Equity & Access
- Clinical
- Health Care Cost
- Health Care Delivery
- Insurance
- Policy
- Technology
- Value-Based Care
Hospital Cost Shifting May Be a Thing of the Past
Convention wisdom has long held that hospitals make up for reimbursement shortfalls in government insurance and uncompensated care by shifting those costs to the privately insured.
Convention wisdom has long held that hospitals make up for reimbursement shortfalls in government insurance and uncompensated care by shifting those costs to the privately insured.
Two studies released this month indicate that this may no longer be the case, although they reach different conclusions about how hospitals are coping with the slowdown in Medicare and Medicaid financing.
Rice University economist Vivian Ho and her colleagues looked at revenue by payer at Texas hospitals between 2000 and 2007. They concluded that hospitals have grown revenue by increased use of technology. Ho said she found no evidence that hospitals are shifting costs to private payers to compensate for the fact that they have to deal with the nation’s highest percentage of uninsured patients. She said technology accounted for two-thirds of the growth in prices. She also noted that hospitals are treating sicker patients because lower-acuity cases are being treated more frequently in outpatient settings.
Read the full story here: http://bit.ly/HaK49c
Source: Healthcare Daily
Hospital Participation in Medicare ACOs: No Change in Admission Practices and Spending
August 19th 2025Hospital accountable care organization (ACO) participation did not impact emergency department admission rates, length of stay, or costs, suggesting limited effectiveness in reducing spending for unplanned admissions and challenging hospital-led ACO cost-saving strategies.
Read More
Laundromats as a New Frontier in Community Health, Medicaid Outreach
May 29th 2025Lindsey Leininger, PhD, and Allister Chang, MPA, highlight the potential of laundromats as accessible, community-based settings to support Medicaid outreach, foster trust, and connect families with essential health and social services.
Listen
Care Quality Metrics in Medicare During COVID-19 Pandemic
August 12th 2025Medicare Advantage outperformed traditional Medicare on clinical quality measures before and during the COVID-19 pandemic; mid-pandemic, however, traditional Medicare narrowed the gap on some in-person screenings.
Read More
