Hospitals Spent $39B in Uncompensated Care in 2010

In 2010, community hospitals provided $39.3 billion in uncompensated care, an increase of nearly $200 million over 2009, according to the American Hospital Association's Annual Survey of Hospitals. The report contains data from nearly 5,000 U.S. hospitals and factors in both the estimated cost of treatment for the uninsured and the amount of hospitals' bad debt. The $39.3 billion figure represents 5.8% of the $678 billion in total hospital expenditures in 2010, or $7.9 million per hospital, according to the report.

• "Uncompensated Care Rose Slightly in 2010" (Selvam, Modern Healthcare, 1/6).