Rhode Island's hospital group sounds alarm on Medicaid changes as 70,000 may lose coverage
By Mary Serreze, Providence Business First
Rhode Island’s hospital trade group says the state could see a healthcare system shock if a looming tidal wave of uncompensated care costs hits its shores.
The Hospital Association of Rhode Island (HARI) this week warned that thousands of residents stand to lose their health insurance next year amid proposed changes in Medicaid eligibility, immigrant coverage, and Affordable Care Act tax credits — and that safety-net hospitals with razor-thin margins and crowded emergency rooms will be expected to pick up the tab.
“When coverage disappears, medical needs don’t,” HARI’s latest briefing notes. “People will still need treatment, and they’ll turn to hospitals when they have nowhere else to go.”
