A report released Monday by Florida Legal Services, a non-profit legal advocate for the poor, says hospitals that treat large numbers of patients without health insurance stand to lose billions because of the Florida Legislature’s refusal to expand Medicaid, the Miami Herald reports.
Jackson Health System in Miami-Dade County, with 160,000 people in the Medicaid gap, could lose more than $570 million a year, the Herald reports. That’s because hospitals that treat uninsured patients will soon begin to lose funding for uncompensated care under the Affordable Care Act, and without Medicaid expansion there will be no other funds to offset that cost, according to the Herald.
