Investigate debt collection policies among Connecticut hospitals, editorial says

Some hospitals in Connecticut are becoming more aggressive in their balance billing tactics, and their policies should be examined, according to an op-ed published by the editorial staff of the Stamford Advocate.

In a recent report from the UConn Health Disparities Institute in Farmington, researchers found one hospital in the state — Danbury (Conn.) Hospital — was involved in nearly half of the 13,824 total medical debt cases filed in Connecticut in 2016.

A state health agency is probing the hospital, and Danbury Hospital is reviewing its debt-collection policies. Still, the op-ed argues "the policies of all hospitals should be examined for equity."

"Hospitals do provide charity care to the poor — Danbury Hospital gave $13 million in free care last year. It is the insured with high deductibles who appear to bear the unfair brunt of debt over the cost of healthcare," the editors said. "Reform insurance policies and either phase out high deductibles or provide more help to people who have them as a necessity to afford monthly insurance payments."

Read the full op-ed here.

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