Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2009
Abstract
The financial ramifications of uncompensated care cost (UCC) on the healthcare industry have been difficult to quantify. With the lack of a standardized definition of uncompensated care and the need to account for the uninsured, indigent, and immigrant populations, the authors identified $190 million of UCC from Southwestern border hospitals for emergency room treatment of undocumented immigrants and $934 million of uncompensated care charges for 23 hospitals in a Texas county, which translated to $353 million of UCC. Although lawmakers passed the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act (2003) to address the growing imbalance, the shortfall of funds highlights the growing crisis and need for policy intervention.
Recommended Citation
Coustasse, A., Lorden, A. L., Nemarugommula, V., & Singh, K. P. (2009). Uncompensated care cost: A pilot study using hospitals in a Texas county. Hospital Topics, 87(2), 3-12.
Included in
Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, Health and Medical Administration Commons, Public Health Commons
Comments
This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Coustasse, A., Lorden, A. L., Nemarugommula, V., & Singh, K. P. (2009). Uncompensated care cost: A pilot study using hospitals in a Texas county. Hospital Topics, 87(2), 3-12, as published in HOSPITAL TOPICS, 2009, copyright Taylor & Francis, available online
at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.3200/HTPS.87.2.3-12