Financing Indigent Care: Short- and Long-term Strategies

摘要: HISTORICALLY, most indigent care has been financed in three ways: cost shifts to insured patients, public insurance programs such as Medicaid, and state local appropriations hospitals other providers. In the past decade, however, cost-containment efforts private sectors, coupled with increased competition health industry, have disrupted traditional ways for financing at very time is needed. Changes Medicare reimbursement methods commercial practices made it extremely difficult subsidize through payers. At same time, ranks of uninsured swelled. Medicaid coverage poor plummeted from 65% 38%, below 25% many states. 1,2 Within employed population, 1985 there were 17 million workers— 3.1 more than 1982. Nearly fourths