Implementation of Affordable Care Act by government leads to rise in recovery of reimbursements from patients

Implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is said to improve the status of reimbursement patterns across all categories. The Act allowed uninsured patients to get coverage through the Medicaid expansion scheme or through health insurance exchanges. It can be used by hospitals for recovering claims for even patients who were admitted earlier. Implementation of ACA will allow hospitals to recover 17% higher reimbursements from patients who have not been admitted. These would comprise of uninsured patients eligible for Medicaid. Ineligible patients will be able to resort to private insurance market. Reimbursements from them are expected to rise by 39%. M.Pines says that “..there are still many unanswered questions, such as how visit volumes will change, and how new payment models that move away from paying for every visit, might impact the business model of emergency departments”. It is yet to be seen how emergency departments and hospitals gain financially.