hospital charity care

Hospital Charity Care, Debt Collection Practices Vary

An analysis of the charity care policies of 2500 hospitals found considerable variation in their practices and in their efforts to collect unpaid bills. According to a review by the Lown Institute, most hospitals offer charity care but the income thresholds for qualifying for such assistance vary widely from hospital to hospital, from as low as household income of 100 percent of the federal poverty level to as much as 600 percent of the federal poverty level. Those standards vary, moreover, even in the same community, with neighboring hospitals sometimes having considerable differences in their thresholds for providing some or [...]

House Committee Looks at 340B

Are hospitals using the savings generated by their participation in the section 340B prescription drug discount program to help their low-income and uninsured patients? That’s what the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee is asking. Earlier this year the committee requested such information from the Health Services and Resources Administration, which runs the 340B program, and now it’s asking hospitals as well. Specifically, the subcommittee sent five-page letters to 19 providers that participate in the 340B program asking them about: the quantity of 340B-purchased drugs they dispense to Medicare beneficiaries, Medicaid beneficiaries, and those with private insurance the quantity [...]