The property tax burden for counties that subsidize care in health facilities for the uninsured has gone down due to the fact that many more people actually have health insurance now – thanks to the Affordable Care Act.
A good example of this is in Cook County, Illinois. Low-income patients are actually able to pay their bills because of expanded Medicaid coverage, which means property taxes and fees will not increase in the county next year.
“For the first time in the history of our health care system, we have more insured patients than uninsured,” Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said in her budget address.
Uncompensated healthcare costs reached $40 billion two years ago, according an American Hospital Association report. Now, the ACA has made a big difference in decreasing that number.
“While we see encouraging, but early, signs that the ACA can lessen the burden of uncompensated care on hospitals and taxpayers, we also know we have a long way to go to realize the law’s promise of broad access to coverage,” Dr. Bruce Siegel, CEO of public hospital lobby, America’s Essential Hospitals, said.
