The relationship of financial and mission factors to the level of uncompensated care provided in California hospitals.
Community hospitals in the United States have experienced a substantial rise in the burden of uncompensated care over the past few years. Debate continues, however, about whether hospitals, especially private not-for-profits, are providing sufficient levels of uncompensated care. Increased scrutiny regarding uncompensated care and the community benefit of not-for-profit hospitals may be fueled in part by the growing profitability of community hospitals. This study assesses how and whether a hospital's financial performance, mission characteristics, or other significant factors influence its provision of uncompensated care. The study sample consists of 193 short-term, private, acute care community hospitals in California. Results from multivariate regression suggest that free cash flow is positively associated with the provision of uncompensated care in not-for-profit hospitals, whereas a higher level of debt is related to a lower level of uncompensated care. Ownership type (for-profit versus private not-for-profit) does not make a significant difference in the provision of uncompensated care, and overall levels of uncompensated care in the local market are positively associated with a hospital's level of uncompensated care.
Kim
Tae Hyun
TH
Department of Health Administration, Governors State University, University Park, Illinois, USA. t-kim@govst.edu
Mccue
Michael J
MJ
Thompson
Jon M
JM
D002140:California; D004469:Economics, Hospital; D006764:Hospitals, Community / Q000191:economics; D006788:Hospitals, Voluntary; D017059:Models, Econometric; D017664:Uncompensated Care