Medicaid Was The Primary Payer For About One-Half Of All Pediatric Hospitalizations

Medicaid covers almost half of all children’s hospital visits, according to a recent study of pediatric hospitalizations, Medicaid, and health care access during 2022. A total of 48.3% of all pediatric hospital charges were paid for by Medicaid in 2022. That included 54.9% of all non-newborn discharges and 44.2% of all newborn discharges. Non-Hispanic White children accounted for 32.6% of the Medicaid-covered hospitalizations, followed by Hispanic (28.6%) and non-Hispanic Black (20.7%) children.

Charges for Medicaid pediatric hospital discharges totaled $119.5 billion, which made up 51.1% of nationwide . . .