Over the past decade, Oregon’s hospitals have steadily increased their spending on physicians and other workers with little influence by the Affordable Care Act. But in other ways, the ACA’s mark is clear, with data revealing that charity care expenses – booked when hospitals reduce or forgive the bill of a patient who cannot pay – dropped significantly once ACA subsidies and marketplaces expanded health insurance coverage in the state.
That’s according to a detailed database released by the state’s Office of Health Analytics in response to a Lund Report public records request.
The broad database goes back to 2007 for close to 60 Oregon hospitals, and shows that hospital revenues have shifted since ACA health coverage became widespread at the start of 2014, with far fewer funds coming to hospitals from people who pay their own bills, and far more coming in through Medicaid-funded plans.
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Courtney Sherwood covers data and public records for The Lund Report. Reach her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter at @csherwood.