While the industry awaits the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling later this month, a new report from Moody’s Investors Service warns that a full or partial repeal of the health reform law will hurt for-profit hospitals.

If the Supreme Court strikes down the entire Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, for-profit hospitals would face more financial pressure as individuals remain without health insurance, as well as market uncertainty over government cost control activity, Moody’s said Wednesday in a statement. If only the individual mandate is ruled unconstitutional, for-profit hospitals still will face increased exposure to bad-debt and reduced reimbursements.

But if the Supreme Court upholds the ACA, the expected influx of newly insured patients would lower bad-debt charges at for-profit hospitals, according to the report.

Fitch Ratings also said that the health coverage expansion under the ACA will positively affect for-profit hospitals, according to its most recent quarterly report. The ratings agency also noted that a boost in outpatient volumes in the first quarter of 2012 helped increase adjusted admissions and profitability across the for-profit hospital sector.

Read more: Hospitals to see more bad debt without health reform – FierceHealthFinance – Health Finance, Healthcare Finance http://www.fiercehealthfinance.com/story/hospitals-see-more-bad-debt-without-health-reform/2012-06-08#ixzz1xaWztDhJ

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