Medicaid expansion is making a difference as to whether hospitals are investing in clinics, new equipment and hiring new staff, or looking at the status quo and layoffs, according to a recent report by Georgetown University Health Policy Institute.

Hospitals in Medicaid expansion states have realized a drop in uncompensated care; an increase in institutional financial security; new community efforts to integrate and improve care; and innovative programs to expand access to specialists, according to the study.

CEOs who head hospitals in both expansion and non-expansion states said they saw a drop in uninsured rates in expansion states that was not as dramatic in non-expansion states.

This has translated to a decline in uninsured patient stays by close to 40 percent. Non expansion states reported a decline of 2.9 percent.