Health Care Costs
As the health care marketplace becomes increasingly more competitive and profit-driven, safety-net providers are finding it more difficult to deliver health care while maintaining financial stability, according to a study in Health Affairs.
Many private physicians and hospitals nationwide are focusing on more profitable activities while reducing services that are not entirely reimbursed, the authors write. According to the study, this trend has created a preference for hospitals that feature more lucrative, state-of-the-art activities and has resulted in safety-net providers:
- Balancing the mix of patients between insured patients and others;
- Developing lucrative specialty service lines;
- Upgrading facilities; and
- Working to appeal to a broader group of patients.
To offset market pressures, researchers call on policymakers to increase funding to safety-net providers, expand insurance coverage and offer incentives to providers to mitigate the cost of providing uncompensated care (Cunningham et al., Health Affairs, 8/12). This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.