University of Southern California

Melnick Explains Hospitals' Reliance on Medicare

|
April 23, 2009

The The Riverside Press-Enterprise quoted Professor Glenn Melnick about hospitals' dependence on Medicare reimbursements. On average, about 55 percent of a hospital's revenue comes from federal reimbursements, Melnick said. A hospital that loses Medicare funding is also likely to lose private insurance contracts, the other main source of hospital revenue, the story noted. "That is usually a death knell for a hospital," he said.