HCA Healthcare cuts 2026 profit outlook as uninsured patient numbers rise after ACA subsidy expiration
HCA Healthcare, the largest U.S. hospital chain, announced on Tuesday that it is lowering its profit outlook for 2026.
The revision reflects a higher-than-expected number of uninsured patients in the second quarter, many of whom dropped their ACA plans after the enhanced premium tax credits expired in January.
The company now expects the loss of income from these patients to be between $1 billion and $1.2 billion, roughly double its earlier estimate of $600 million to $900 million.
The trend signals an early impact of the subsidy phase‑out on hospital finances and could foreshadow broader challenges for the sector.
This writeup was produced by pharmadog from original reporting by STAT.
Original headline: “STAT+: Hospital chain HCA warns of lower profits as more patients go uninsured”
read at STAT ↗
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