http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/finance/without-medicaid-expansion-texas-hospitals-left-holding-bag

Should Texas ever decide to expand Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act, its hospitals would be spared about $358 million a year in costs tied to uncompensated care, a new study has found.

The research was conducted by the Florida-based consulting firm Health Management Associates on behalf of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, The Dallas Morning News has reported. The report was not immediately available online.

If Medicaid were expanded, about 9 percent of the approximately $4 billion a year Texas’ hospitals spend on uncompensated care could be saved, the newspaper reported. Health Management Associates (HMA) predicted about 668,000 Texans out of the 1.1 million eligible for Medicaid coverage would enroll if eligibility were expanded.

But, quoting the report, the newspaper said that Texas lawmakers are not inclined to expand Medicaid anytime soon.