Advocacy group: Why is UVM Medical Center losing money on Medicare as others break even?
Dan D'Ambrosio - Burlington Free Press
A new group called Vermont Healthcare 911, formed to combat Vermont's "unreasonably high" health care costs, is calling out UVM Medical Center for losing $119.4 million in 2023 on Medicare patients, while other academic medical centers across the country either broke even or made a profit on their Medicare patients.
By comparison, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire lost $36.9 million in 2023 on Medicare patients, and Maine Medical Center nearly broke even, losing $8.1 million.
"When a hospital can't cover its expenses from Medicare patients they have to hike up commercial insurance rates," former governor Jim Douglas said in a statement. "We hear again and again from hospital leaders that our aging population is one of the reasons health care costs are high in Vermont. But most of their peer hospitals in the region and across the country break even or make money treating seniors."
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Data shows more than three-quarters of academic medical centers make money on Medicare patients
Vermont Healthcare 911 said its key findings show:
In 2023, 82 (77%) of 106 academic medical centers reported a financial gain caring for Medicare patients, while 24 (23%) reported a loss.
Of these 106 academic medical centers, UVMMC reported the sixth largest loss at $119,417,240.
Most academic medical centers in the northeast reported a smaller loss or a financial gain caring for Medicare patients. Maine Medical Center, where the population is even older than Vermont's, comes close to breaking even on Medicare reimbursements.
VHC911 used data from the National Academy for State Health Policy to make its analysis of Medicare costs.
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