Who bears the burden of uncompensated hospital care?

This paper considers the question of who bears the burden of uncompensated hospital care. The thesis is that the hospital that provides the services received by indigent patients may not be the one that eventually bears the financial burden. The various sources of funds available for the payment of indigent care are identified and the incidence of financial burden discussed. The paper ends by addressing several considerations that should be taken into account in evaluating how fairly the indigent care burden is distributed.