CT uninsured hospitalizations report

In fiscal year 2008, there were 12,314 hospitalizations in CT for patients with no third party payer (government or insurance plan), down from 13, 241 in 2007 and 12,988 in 2006, according to a new report by the Office of Health Care Access. However ER visits by the uninsured rose by 2.3% from 2006 to 2008, remaining at 11% of total visits to the ER. Total charges for 2008 uninsured hospitalizations were over $239 million. This does not reflect the costs of care, but the far higher price hospitals generally charge the uninsured. While the number of uninsured hospitalizations dropped by 6.6% from 2006 to 2008, charges increased by 14%. Only 3% of CT hospitalizations were uninsured, compared to the US average of 5.7%. Uninsured hospital patients were more likely to be ages 40 to 54, black or Hispanic, and living in Fairfield, New Haven or Hartford counties. The hospitals with the highest number of uninsured hospitalizations were Hartford Hospital, Yale-New Haven, St. Vincent’s, and Norwalk, in that order.
Ellen Andrews