Hospitals attribute drop in uninsured patients to Medicaid expansion

Hospitals in Central Ohio are reporting that they are serving fewer uninsured patients as a result of Ohio’s expanded Medicaid program (Source: “Hospitals see fewer uninsured,” Columbus Dispatch, July 27, 2014).

Responding to a request from the Columbus Dispatch, Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center reported that it provided care to 41,000 uninsured patients between July 2013 and June 2014 — a 19 percent drop from the previous 12 months. Mount Carmel Health System, meanwhile, saw a 10 percent decline in uninsured patients during the first half of this year, compared to the last six months of 2013.

Officials at both hospital systems attributed the drop in uninsured patients to the Medicaid expansion.