Hospital has more trouble getting paid

Vermont took the PPACA Medicaid expansion money, and it had generous public health benefits programs before the Medicaid expansion took effect.

At Springfield Hospital, “we have seen a decline in charity care,” or care provided for uninsured patients with little ability to handle large bills out of their own pockets, the executives said. The hospital believes PPACA has increased the percentage of patients with some kind of coverage.

At this point, the increase in potential insurance program payment revenue has not translated into an actual increase, the executives said. “In the current fiscal year quarter,” the executives said, “we have experienced a surge in bad debts.”

The hospital is assuming, based on anecdotal evidence, that the increase in bad debt is due to a combination of PPACA coverage complications, PPACA coverage verification complications, and PPACA exchange plan designs that impose big deductible, co-payment and coinsurance responsibilities on the patients, the executives said.