While uncompensated care is down, bad debt is up at Ohio hospitals.

According to a new report from the Ohio Hospital Association, hospital bad debt rose in that state from $1.04 billion in FY 2013, when the state had not expanded its Medicaid program, to $1.23 billion in 2014, after Medicaid expansion had begun.

Why?

The increase was “…spurred by the growth in high deductible health plans,” the report states.

At the same time, what the association calls “charity care” fell from $1.03 billion to $809 million.

Increased bad debt as a result of the purchase of high-deductible health insurance is especially a challenge for urban safety-net hospitals because so many of the residents of the low-income communities they serve struggle even to pay for the lowest-cost health insurance.

To learn more go here to Healing Ohio Communities, the Ohio Hospital Association’s 2016 community benefit report.