The COVID-19-Driven Economic Downturn Is Projected to Lead to Half a Million More Medicaid Members in Colorado. That Means Big Changes for Hospital Revenues
For Immediate Release
June 10, 2020
DENVER -- More than 500,000 Coloradans are projected to join Medicaid by the end of 2020 due to the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
For Colorado’s 81 hospitals, this change will result in a significant decrease in revenue. Many of those people will be enrolling in Medicaid after losing employer-based health insurance, which reimburses hospitals at higher rates. And it comes as hospitals are already grappling with the cost of preparing for and treating a wave of COVID-19 patients combined with a stay on elective procedures that shocked many hospitals’ finances.
“$500 million is a small part of hospitals’ overall revenue in recent years,” said Spencer Budd, a Policy Analyst at CHI who led the analysis. “But it’s a more significant hit to their finances than many cost-cutting proposals that have been fiercely debated in the legislature. And rural hospitals and those that serve more people with lower incomes will be more affected by these changes.”
The course of the pandemic – and policy decisions – will determine the long-term financial impact on the state’s hospitals.
This brief continues CHI’s examination of policy issues related to COVID-19, including a social distancing index; a report focused on changes to telemedicine; and blogs focused on the impact on domestic care workers, child care, and Coloradans without insurance. A forthcoming report will look at access to care issues in Medicaid in light of surging enrollment.
For more information
Contact Kristi Arellano, managing director of marketing and communications
720.382.7080 or ArellanoK@coloradohealthinstitute.org.