White House Says Obamacare Is Cutting Hospitals’ Charity Costs

The Department of Health and Human Services issued a report Wednesday estimating that hospitals will save $5.7-billion in charity care and bad debt this year as the number of patients lacking insurance declines, the Associated Press writes. Most of the savings—$4.2-billion—are in the 25 states and the District of Columbia that expanded Medicaid coverage at the start of the year. Two more states have since done so.

The findings come as the Obama administration presses the remaining 23 states to reconsider their refusal to extend Medicaid to previously ineligible recipients under the Affordable Care Act. The HHS report says hospitals in states that have expanded the federally backed coverage have seen admissions of uninsured patients drop by about 30 percent.