Non-profit hospitals in the United States tallied $41.1 billion in uncompensated care — the most ever recorded since the American Hospital Association first tracked the data in 1980, according to the AHA's Annual Survey of Hospitals (pdf).
AHA defines uncompensated care as the combination of a hospital's bad debt and charity. Bad debt consists of services for which hospitals expected to receive payment but did not, whereas as charity care is free care for which hospitals did not expect to receive payment.
Uncompensated care totals from 2011 did not include underpayments from Medicare or Medicaid. The $41.1 billion figure represented 5.9 percent of total hospital expenses. In comparison, hospitals recorded $39.3 billion in uncompensated care in 2010, or 5.8 percent of all expenses.
AHA defines uncompensated care as the combination of a hospital's bad debt and charity. Bad debt consists of services for which hospitals expected to receive payment but did not, whereas as charity care is free care for which hospitals did not expect to receive payment.
Uncompensated care totals from 2011 did not include underpayments from Medicare or Medicaid. The $41.1 billion figure represented 5.9 percent of total hospital expenses. In comparison, hospitals recorded $39.3 billion in uncompensated care in 2010, or 5.8 percent of all expenses.
More Articles on Uncompensated Care:
Single-Payor Healthcare: An Analysis of Potential Benefits and Challenges
Where Healthcare Reform is Heading: Q&A With Neurosurgeon Dr. Jeffrey Lobosky
Rep. Joe Heck: Physicians Should Receive Tax Credit For Uncompensated Care