Disproportionate share hospital

rdf:langString Disproportionate share hospital

rdf:langString August 2012

rdf:langString add wikilinks; coverage of situation prior to PPACA; comparison with non-USA approaches

rdf:langString The United States government provides funding to hospitals that treat indigent patients through the Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) programs, under which facilities are able to receive at least partial compensation. Although 3,109 hospitals receive this adjustment, Medicare DSH payments are highly concentrated. Ninety-three percent of total DSH payments go to large hospitals in urban areas, and teaching hospitals receive about 65 percent of all DSH payments. Additionally, because Medicaid eligibility and coverage vary widely across states, Medicare DSH payments are distributed unevenly across geographic areas: the Middle Atlantic, South Atlantic, and Pacific regions account for 60 percent of all DSH payments but only 46 percent of Medicare discharges.