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Report Examines the Impact of Health Insurance Reforms on Hospital Volumes

A recently published Key Indicators Report by The Center for Health Affairs examines the impact of health insurance reforms on hospital volume in Northeast Ohio. Health insurance coverage, which continues to grow across the country as a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), is changing the way patients access healthcare services. Today, hospitals are adapting to new patient volumes based on where patients enter their facilities, how long they are staying, and what types of surgeries they now require as a result of their prevention efforts. As a result, during the second quarter of 2016 providers in Northeast Ohio saw a decrease in total patient days and total patient discharges by 3.28 percent and 4.19 percent, respectively.

As the report examines, health insurance reforms have allowed patients to better manage their own health in more effective ways – no longer relying on the emergency department and hospitalization to stay healthy. Accordingly, the types of surgeries patients are receiving continues to change. Total inpatient surgeries declined by 1.46 percent during the second quarter of 2016, whereas the number of outpatient surgeries increased by over 5 percent during the same quarter.

Other trends during the second quarter of 2016 include less-than-one percent decreases in the number on campus emergency department admissions and patients considered observation status, and a .88 percent increase in the number of on campus emergency department cases.

The Key Indicators Report provides analysis based on data collected from its Volume Statistics program. For more information on the impact of health insurance reforms on hospital volumes, please contact George Jeney at 216.255.3666 or via email or Tony Gutowski at 216.255.3610 or via email.