The number of uninsured patients in Iowa hospitals declined during the first part of 2014 compared to the same time period last year, according to a Cedar Valley Business Monthly report.
According to the report, which cites an Iowa Hospital Association analysis, the number of uninsured people in Iowa hospitals was 45.7 percent less. From January to June of 2013, there were 159,000 hospital discharges at 101 of Iowa's 118 community hospitals, and 8,181 of those patients were uninsured. This year, that number dropped to 4,445 uninsured patients.
IHA officials attributed the decline to the state’s expansion of Medicaid through the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan, according to the report.
IHA President and CEO Kirk Norris told the publication, "This analysis provides further evidence that Medicaid expansion is doing what it was intended to do – making health care more accessible and affordable for the 110,000 Iowans who have gained eligibility and coverage."
More articles on Medicaid expansion:
Why 4M Americans don't have access to health insurance post-PPACA
Will the cost of Medicaid expansion overwhelm state?
How hospitals survive in states without Medicaid expansion