Hospitals Serving the Uninsured Face Challenge Under Obamacare

Hospitals that treat the most vulnerable patients may have the toughest time weathering spending cuts under President Obama’s health-care law.

Approximately 1,500 hospitals nationwide are known as “safety net” providers because they care for a larger portion of uninsured patients than their competitors.

Under the Affordable Care Act, the safety-net hospitals will gain a new source of revenue when millions of the uninsured gain coverage. At the same time, the law’s spending cuts could prove challenging for hospitals that tend to operate with relatively small profit margins.

“This is a time of uncertainty for them,” said Stu Guterman, vice president of the Commonwealth Fund. “On the one hand, they should be thrilled because a lot of the patients they treat will have payment attached to them. On the other, they’re losing some of the funding they rely on.”

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Source: The Washington Post