Missouri hospitals provided more than $2.25 billion in unpaid care for Missourians in 2023, new data finds.
According to the Missouri Hospital Association, the 128 reporting hospitals provided $677 million in care to individuals who could not afford their care and $389 million in billed services that were never paid.
In 2023, Texas County Memorial Hospital provided about $3.87 million in uncompensated services, according to its annual report released in June. In 2024, the amount was about $5.32 million.
The statewide costs, known as uncompensated care, represented more than a billion dollars in unpaid care provided to Missourians.
Another $1.2 billion was absorbed by hospitals in unreimbursed costs for care provided to enrollees in Medicare and Medicaid.
Medicare beneficiaries account for half of all care provided in hospitals, and an additional 18 percent of care is provided to those covered by Medicaid. Medicaid covers approximately 40 percent of births and children in Missouri.
Both social programs reimburse hospitals for services at less than the actual cost of providing care, at a typical rate of 87 cents to a dollar for Medicare and even less for Medicaid.
“The state’s hospitals are mission-focused,” said Jon D. Doolittle, MHA president and CEO in the news release. “Providing care for individuals who don’t have insurance, or the ability to pay for their care, is a significant component of how hospitals serve their communities.”
Doolittle noted Missouri’s hospitals provided a measurable economic boost in the communities they serve — through payroll and benefits, capital investments and community leadership.
In 2023, Missouri hospitals employed more than 152,000 workers and invested $17 billion in various capital improvements projects in their communities. In 2024, Texas County paid gross wages of about $21 million for 343 employees.
“Hospitals are essential, community-focused organizations,” Doolittle said. “Again, this year, hospitals improved the physical and economic health of the people and communities they served. Producing these numbers are 150,000-plus hospital team members committed to delivering lifesaving care, improving health and making their communities better. We all should celebrate and thank them for their work.”
The shortfalls are astounding! We simply cannot have a great nation with children, single mothers, the elderly and veterans sick or dying for lack of proper healthcare. Now with the “big beautiful bill” being passed everything will get much worse. Many rural hospitals will be likely to close. It might be more accurate to call the bill “the big ugly lie! “. All to pay for a tax cut mostly going to people that are wealthy. Thank you for this excellent reporting and for TCMH’s commitment to the health of all in our community!