Last year, federal health care reform brought about $3.2 million in savings for Aspirus Wausau Hospital. "This has been the one biggest changes we've seen so far," said Sid Sczygelski, senior vice president of finance and the chief financial officer for Aspirus Inc., about the federal Affordable Care Act's effect on the hospital's bottom line. The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, helped reduce the number of people without health insurance, which meant hospitals saw less bad debt and charity cases last year. In 2014, taxpayers were required for the first time to get insurance or pay a fine.
