Running head: SAFETY NET HOSPITALS

Safety Net Hospitals

Jennifer Zayd
The University of Saint Mary

Safety Net Hospitals

Safety net hospitals, at the most basic level, are hospitals that provide care for patients
regardless of ability to pay (Policy, n.d.). The overall goal of safety net hospitals, are to provide
care for patients without the means to access care. Often located in urban areas, safety net
hospitals can be one specific hospital or may be a group of hospitals. They are often further
described as providing care for vulnerable populations. The definition of a vulnerable
population varies and can affect the payment hospitals receive for providing safety net care.
Further complicating the goal of safety net hospitals are the differing regulations based on
location. Most safety net hospitals receive funds from Medicaid, Medicare, and the Medicaid and
Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospital Payments system (DSH). Medicaid and Medicare

DSH payments are meant to supplement hospitals that care for a disproportionately high amount
of vulnerable patients (Bachrach, Braslow, & Karl, 2012). This is where the definition of
vulnerable patients can have a profound impact on a hospitals ability to maintain financial
solvency. States are allowed to make their own definition of vulnerable population which can
make the compensation to one hospital drastically different than similar hospital in another state.
The Affordable Care Act, while making insurance accessible to a larger segment of our
population, will still leave some without access to care, This is why the funding of safety net
hospitals is still relevant and needs to be streamlined so that we continue to provide this much
needed service to patients who will otherwise be left without any ability to access care.

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References

A policy framework for targeting financially vulnerable safety net hospitals [Analysis of the Joint
Distribution of Disproportionate Share Hospital Payments]. (n.d.). Retrieved from Office
of Health Policy: http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/02/DSH/ch2.htm
Bachrach, D., Braslow, L., & Karl, A. (2012). Toward a high performance health care system for
vulnerable populations: Funding for safety-net hospitals. Retrieved from
http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Publications/Fund-Reports/2012/Mar/VulnerablePopulations.aspx