The audit, conducted by an independent audit firm, examined UNMH’s indigent care costs and funding from fiscal year 2014 to 2016, according to a news release. It revealed UNMH had a total funding shortfall of more than $60 million, despite a reduction in indigent care costs of 50 percent from 2014 to 2016.
The state auditor attributed the shortfall to UNMH providing more indigent care than it is funded for. From FY 2014 to 2016, the hospital increased the number of indigent patients receiving financial assistance by 34 percent, according to a news release.
The reduction in the cost of serving patients who cannot afford care may be due to Medicaid expansion and the ACA, the state auditor said in the release.
“For years, advocates and policymakers have pushed for more sunshine on how we’re doing when it comes to providing care to folks who can’t afford it,” stated State Auditor Tim Keller. “The audit helps meet a public need to make sure indigent care is transparent. The best way to hold hospitals like UNMH accountable for administering indigent care programs effectively is by providing more understandable information to the public.”
New Mexico’s audit office also plans to require similar data on indigent care from hospitals statewide.
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