BJC HEALTH SYSTEM GROUP RETURN

Financial assistance, unreimbursed medicaid & means-tested uncompensated care: bjc healthcare hospitals & service organizations (bjc) care for all patients, regardless of their ability to pay. Bjc provided $112.8 million in financial assistance during 2024 to patients who were unable to pay for any or all of the care they needed. Financial assistance consists of medical services given free of charge to those without insurance or with inadequate insurance who have demonstrated they are unable to pay for their care. Additionally, bjc hospitals provided $336.4 million during 2024 in unreimbursed care to medicaid patients, absorbing the shortfall between the cost of needed medical services & the reimbursement received from state programs for qualifying low-income patients. The cost of care for charity & unreimbursed medicaid patients totaled $449.2 million.bjc also absorbs the cost of caring for patients who are unable to pay their co-pays, deductibles or other health care costs for a wide range of reasons that they may or may not share with bjc. Bjc provided an estimated $12.7 million during 2024 in care to patients who, based upon an extensive analysis of zip code & other information, were presumed to have been eligible for financial assistance under the bjc policy, had financial information been provided to the organization. These patients received needed medical services and, in fact, received the equivalent of financial assistance but were not initially identified as qualifying for financial assistance.