How does UCMC compare with other U.S. academic medical centers?
The chart below (2004 data) puts these data in a national context. It compares the percentage of government (Medicare and Medicaid) to private insurance at UCMC and peer institutions around the country. Academic medical centers represent only 2 percent of the nation’s hospitals but provide 22 percent of all uncompensated care. At 60% government pay, UCMC is 20% (10 percentage points) higher than the national median of 50 percent. UCMC is 42 percent higher than the median for Medicaid, leading the pack, even among academic centers. The issue, as the Wall Street Journal recently summarized it, “touches on one of the most critical questions facing hospitals that serve low-income populations: How many patients on Medicaid insurance, and older patients on Medicare, can a hospital afford to serve?
