Feature Story

June 5, 2007

Study Examines Financial Reliance of Nonprofit Health Care Organizations on Medicaid

From Ascribe Newsfeed:

Nonprofit health-care providers -- including hospitals, nursing homes, and home-health organizations -- received between $85 billion and $105 billion in Medicaid funding in fiscal 2004, roughly a third of total Medicaid spending, according to a groundbreaking study commissioned by the Aspen Institute's Nonprofit Sector and Philanthropy Program and conducted by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, the public-policy research arm of the State University of New York system.

"The financial relationship between Medicaid and nonprofit organizations has significant implications for their missions, management, and budgeting tactics," the study concludes.

Conducted by Courtney Burke, a senior policy analyst at the Rockefeller Institute, the study found that nonprofit groups' reliance on Medicaid money is "significant, varied, and volatile" because of differences in state policies and fluctuations in the health-care market.

The study also concludes that Medicaid funding has changed the character of some nonprofit groups by leading them to hire more professional staff and otherwise raise their operating standards to meet government requirements.

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