Gas prices, surgeries, and uncompensated care

With the end of ACA subsidies, rising deductibles and more uninsured, giant healthcare systems are getting hammered.

They’re going to look to other payers to make up lost revenue - that’s YOU, workers’ comp

Weakened surgical demand from price-conscious consumers and a rise in uninsured volumes stemming from health insurance exchange disenrollments proved an unexpectedly large drag on Community Health Systems' second quarter—and are now projected to continue through 2026. [emphasis added]

This rather distressing news comes from Fiercehealthcare - and it is just the latest indication that the healthcare system is imploding.

[Community Health Systems’] Q2's same-store adjusted admissions increased 2.9% year over year, but half of that growth came from uninsured patients who bring little revenue to the company. Total uncompensated or self-pay patients comprised…more than 6% during the most recent quarter,

But wait! there’s MORE!

a Q1 trend of soft elective surgery demand among commercially insured patients has continued into the second period, for which executives highlighted a worsening consumer confidence index and the lower-than-average median household income of its markets…

Here’s one major driver:

"As gas prices go up, that has a pretty significant impact on disposable income for those households," CEO Kevin Hammons said during the call. "And healthcare seems to be one of the first things that people will delay, or at least attempt to delay if they can." [Emphasis added]

What does this mean for you?

When the Board asks what happened to your combined ratio, you might want to best have an answer.