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The Supreme Court's upholding of the Affordable Care Act will slash the number of uninsured patients in the state's health care system. That will provide relief for the Texas Medical Center.

 

There are currently about six million uninsured individuals in Texas. The emergency room is often the only place they can turn if they get sick or injured. More often than not, the hospital gets stuck with the bill.

“There is definitely compensation from local and state sources and the federal government for caring for these people, but is always an extreme financial burden.”

Vivian Ho is a health economist at Rice University’s Baker Institute.  Ho says the high court’s ruling will greatly reduce that burden. She says it will also bring in new business from patients who would not otherwise have sought help.

“There’s plenty of evidence from the research showing that those who are uninsured, once they receive insurance, will actually consume more health care. So there are going to be more patients coming in through the door at both doctors’ offices and hospitals.”

Ho says the downside for hospitals is that the law cuts compensation for treating Medicare patients.

 

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