MetroHealth wants to get more patients insured to reduce climbing charity care costs

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland’s MetroHealth System is confronting a severe financial challenge due to an increase in the cost of care for uninsured patients.

The county’s safety net hospital has initiated several cost-cutting measures, including a new push to enroll patients in insurance programs, as it navigates operating losses and prepares for future changes in government healthcare funding.

Here are three takeaways from health reporter Julie Washington’s original article :

1. Charity care costs have doubled, now exceeding $1 million a day

MetroHealth is facing an “unprecedented and unexpected surge” in the cost of care it provides to uninsured individuals. The system’s spending on charity care has climbed in recent years, rising from $176 million in 2021 to $276 million in 2024, an