Missouri hospitals bear costs of high uninsured rate; uncompensated care swells 469%
Uncompensated care in Missouri's hospitals swelled 469 percent over a 10-year period, from 2004 to 2014 -- rising from $154 million to $723 million over that span, according to the Missouri Hospital Association's annual Community Investment Report, which examines community benefit and economic data.
Uncompensated care in Missouri's hospitals swelled 469 percent over a 10-year period, from 2004 to 2014 -- rising from $154 million to $723 million over that span, according to the Missouri Hospital Association's annual Community Investment Report, which examines community benefit and economic data.
Charity care and bad debt comprise the total uncompensated care provided. The report states that, in 2014, Missouri hospitals incurred more than $592 million in bad debt.
"Hospitals continue to bear the cost of the state's high uninsured rate," said Herb Kuhn, Missouri Hospital Association CEO, in a statement.
Kuhn said that, in addition to those contributions, the state's hospitals provide other benefits to the community -- such as absorbing the unpaid costs of treating Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, educating and training healthcare workforces and offering clinical services, as well as donating to local causes.
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Taken together, those investments constitute what the report calls "community benefit," and according to its findings, the state's hospitals kicked in more than $2.75 billion in value to local communities when those factors are aggregated.
Hospitals are often the largest single employer in the area, and the financial boost to their communities is proportional to their size, the report argues. In St. Louis, for example, hospitals employ almost 54,000 people, representing payroll and benefits of approximately $3.5 billion. St. Louis hospitals injected about $527 million in capital investment in the area in 2014.
Kansas City came in second, at around 31,000 employees, $2.2, billion in payroll and benefits and $247 million in capital investments.
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"Hospitals have become economic anchors in communities across the state," said Dan Mehan, president and CEO of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry. "In fact, it's hard to overestimate the impact Missouri hospitals have on the economy."
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