The Obama administration has adopted sweeping new rules to discourage nonprofit hospitals from using aggressive tactics to collect payments from low-income patients. (These are the ones least likely to be insured, and who get charged FULL PRICE) Under the rules, nonprofit hospitals must now offer discounts, free care or other financial assistance to certain needy patients. Additionally, hospitals must try to determine whether a patient is eligible for assistance before they refer a case to a debt collector, send negative information to a credit agency, place a lien on a patient’s home, file a lawsuit or seek a court order to seize a patient’s earnings. With these rules, it should be easier for low- and moderate-income people to get care without having to worry about a hospital or a bill collector hounding them for money they don’t have, and protect patients from price gouging. nytimes/2015/01/12/us/politics/new-rules-to-limit-tactics-on-hospitals-fee-collections.html?contentCollection=us&action=click&module=NextInCollection®ion=Footer&pgtype=article
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 16:40:22 +0000
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