The report cites a study by Health Services Research Journal which shows that when unemployment rose by 1 percent, the result was a 1.58 percent decrease in the use of preventive health services.
The report cites other ways that the unemployment rate impacts hospital performance.
For instance, when people lose their jobs, the result is a reduction in health coverage, according to the report.
“Major for-profit hospital operators…have benefitted from the reduction in the unemployment rate in the second and the third quarters of 2014,” the report reads. “A decrease in unemployment leads to fewer Medicaid and uninsured admissions and more admissions with profitable commercial health insurance. As the unemployment rate continues to decrease — from 7.0 in November 2013 to 5.8 in November 2014 — the share of employer-sponsored insurance should rise, boosting hospitals’ profitability.”
Additionally, a rise in the unemployment rate results in more admissions related to mental health, according to the report.
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