The 'permanent patients' in America's hospitals

Urban health-care facilities sometimes wind up caring for people for years after they have recovered — because no one else will take them in

Big-city hospitals are seeing a growing number of patients sticking around long after their care is complete, simply because they have no other place to go.
(Image credit: Helen King/CORBIS)

Hospitals in big cities are getting stuck caring for "permanent patients" who are well enough to be released, but have nowhere else to go, according to The New York Times. In some cases, these patients wind up staying for years, costing hospitals a fortune. Here, a guide to what these "decidedly unwelcome patients" mean for the nation's health-care system:

How big is this problem?

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