The study looked at seven hospitals on Chicago’s South Side and six on its West Side, both areas that house significantly higher proportions of Black and Lainx residents than the rest of the city.
The authors predicted the South Side hospitals would lose $1.34 billion by 2024, and the West Side hospitals would lose $421 million by 2024. They said the projected losses are conservative estimates, as their calculations are based on 2018 volume and cost data and do not take into account the pandemic or the worsening recession.
Chicago safety net hospitals make far less money than they spend. This can be attributed to low reimbursement rates from the government and insurers, as well as Illinois private Medicaid insurers’ failure to pay hospitals in a timely manner or at all, according to the study.
Additionally, the city’s safety net hospitals can’t afford to invest in large aging facilities or hire more specialists, so patients are often forced to go to bigger hospitals, David Smith, the study’s lead author, told WBEZ March 2.
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