Hospitals are finding that helping homeless, frequent emergency room visitors find housing can reduce their unreimbursed ER costs.

Throughout the country, hospitals are investing money – in some cases, millions of dollars – in housing programs for the homeless.  What they are finding when they do so is that the stability of reliable housing – coupled with supportive social services – appears to be reducing the frequency with which such individuals appear in their ERs.

Examples of such programs can be found in a number of urban areas:  Sacramento, Orlando, Portland, New York City, Los Angeles, and elsewhere.

Learn more about what hospitals are doing, why they are doing it, and what they think their efforts are accomplishing in this Kaiser Health News story.