self-pay patients

With Medicaid Enrollment Down, More Patients Paying Cash

With roughly five million Americans losing their Medicaid coverage since early 2025 as a result of the expiration of COVID-inspired eligibility expansions and the introduction of new, more stringent eligibility criteria, more people, faced with the need for health care and without their Medicaid safety net, are turning to cash to pay for the services they need. According to new data, 7.6 percent of ER patients paid cash in the second quarter of 2026, up from 5.5 percent in 2022. Meanwhile, the number of cash-paying, uninsured inpatients rose from 1.9 percent to 2.6 percent over the same period of time. [...]

Medicaid Redeterminations Trigger Increase in Self-Pay Care

As states continue redetermining Medicaid eligibility for participants who were protected from disenrollment during the COVID-19 emergency, the number of patients telling providers they will pay for their own hospital, primary care, and emergency department visits has risen. The increase in self-pay has been greatest for emergency department visits, and overall, the increases occurred most often in states that began disenrolling Medicaid participants as soon as the continuous eligibility afforded by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act ended. The rise in self-pay patients suggests that many previous Medicaid participants have not obtained new health insurance since their Medicaid eligibility ended. [...]