Long-Term Impact of Medicaid Expansion on Not-for-Profit Hospital Community Benefit Spending in the Southern US.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To examine the long-term impact of Medicaid expansion on not-for-profit (NFP) hospital community benefit (CB) spending among hospitals located in Arkansas and Kentucky (9 y postexpansion), Louisiana (7 y postexpansion), and Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas (nonexpansion states).

Background

To maintain tax-exemption status, NFP hospitals must provide CB, such as charity care and population health initiatives. In the short term, Medicaid expansion has led to decreased charity care and increased Medicaid shortfalls, but no change to other CB categories. Given these early findings and Medicaid expansion's impact on hospital finances, it is important to understand whether hospitals continued to adjust their CB spending.

Methods

We used data on hospital

SUBMITTER: Olin S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12854402 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature