Wisconsin Hospitals Report Uncompensated Care Topped $2 Billion in 2025
Wisconsin Hospital Association's annual Uncompensated Health Care Report found hospitals provided more than $2 billion in unpaid care in 2025, split nearly evenly between charity care and bad debt, a 15 percent increase over 2024. Charity care alone rose nearly 29 percent, which WHA's CEO attributed partly to rising living costs and increased coverage denials, including from Medicare Advantage plans. Hospital leaders project uncompensated care will keep growing in 2026, with bad debt up 18 percent and charity care up 3.5 percent year over year. Advocates and researchers tied the trend to Wisconsin's non-expansion Medicaid coverage gap, expiring enhanced ACA subsidies, declining marketplace enrollment, and the new Medicaid work requirement set to take effect in 2026, which state officials warn could cause coverage losses for tens of thousands of residents.