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Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Obamacare May Cut Bad Debt Says Southwest Memorial Hospital

As more people in Montezuma County sign up for insurance under the federal healthcare law, Southwest Memorial Hospital in Cortez may take on far less bad debt. Southwest Health System said patients were unable to pay about $4.6 million in medical bills during the 12 months leading up to October 2012.

In preparation for Obamacare, the hospital became certified in the fall to sign people up for Medicaid and other forms of insurance. According to Kent Helwig, CEO of Southwest Memorial Hospital, the hope is that people will seek out preventive care and make fewer trips to the emergency room when they have insurance. Read the rest of the article in the Cortez Journal here.