Hospitals Look to Cut Charity Care

Hospitals across the nation are attempting to drive uninsured individuals to sign up for subsidized private insurance plans on the online marketplaces by cutting back their financial assistance programs, according to a report from The New York Times.

Some hospitals, such asSt. Louis-based Barnes-Jewish Hospital, have started requiring all uninsured patients to pay a co-payment. Burlington, Vt.-based Fletcher Allen Health Care has also scaled back its charity care by reducing financial assistance on a sliding scale for uninsured patients whose incomes are 200 percent to 400 percent the poverty level, according to the report.

Although the goal of scaling back charity care is to push people to sign up for coverage, advocates for the uninsured fear many lower- and middle-income individuals will not receive the care they need because they cannot afford to buy insurance, even with the subsidies, according to the report.

More Articles on Charity Care:

Alliance for Integrity Analysis Questions 340B Hospitals' Charity Care
Tax-Exempt Status: From Charitable Care to Community Benefit
Hospitals Provided $46B in Uncompensated Care in 2012