Approximately 7.2 million Americans enrolled in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program since October 2013, according to the CMS.
Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare Corp., which has operations in five expansion states, saw uninsured and charity care admissions decline by 46%, coupled with a 20.5% increase in Medicaid admissions in those same states. In the second quarter alone, Tenet saw a $78 million reduction in unpaid care.
The system credits its success to a major outreach campaign it launched to educate people in its communities, which included more than 350 events across its markets, and nearly 1 million pieces of print material. It estimates “tens of thousands” enrolled in Medicaid as a result of its efforts.
“It does not surprise me that they're using us in such a high percentages and in our outpatient centers because those are the most accessible points of access,” Tenet CEO Trevor Fetter said during an earnings call last month.
Another winner was Brentwood, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems, which has hospitals in 12 states that expanded Medicaid. Those states account for only 23% of Community Health's overall revenue yet provided a major financial lift for the company as self-pay emergency room visits declined 41%.
The system saw a corresponding 10.4% increase in Medicaid admissions through the first half of this year compared with the same period in 2013.
Between new paying customers under the ACA's coverage expansion, and corresponding reduction in uninsured patients, the company saw about $40 million to $45 million of in earnings.
“Hospitals are seeing an important expansion in terms of reduction in the percentage of self-pay admissions and ER visits in those states that have expanded Medicaid versus those states that have not expanded,” the company's CEO Wayne Smith said during an earnings call last month.
In the five expansion states where Nashville-based HCA Holdings operates, Medicaid admissions increased 32% and uninsured admissions declined 48% declined through the first half of the year, according to the report.
LifePoint Hospitals, also based in Brentwood, attributes about $13 million of the $158 million it earned in the second quarter to the ACA's coverage expansion. About 80% of newly covered admissions came from Medicaid in the second quarter.
Finally, King of Prussia, Pa.-based Universal Health Services reported a 30% increase in second-quarter adjusted net income, to $155.6 million compared to $118.9 million during the same period a year ago.
Follow Virgil Dickson on Twitter: @MHVDickson
