Consumer advocates are demanding the state of North Carolina establish more laws to protect hospital patients, saying the current lack of legislation leaves patients too vulnerable, according to a Charlotte Observer report.
The news report outlines seven proposed changes to state hospital regulations.
1. Require hospitals to post charity care policies in prominent places.
2. Make it easier for patients to apply for charity care.
3. Establish state rules on who gets charity care.
4. Require hospitals to report charity care spending to the state.
5. Prohibit hospitals from putting liens on the homes of patients with few resources.
6. Require credit agencies to remove medical debts from reports after a bill is paid.
7. Make hospital prices more transparent.
The news report cites the hurdles a regulatory reform faces in North Carolina. "Any lawmakers attempting to bring about significant change will likely find themselves hearing from well-connected hospital lobbyists," it says.
Patient advocates' call for change comes shortly after two North Carolina newspapers released findings that many non-profit hospitals' profits outpaced their charity care. Roughly 33 percent of non-profit hospitals in the state spent less than 2 percent of their budgets on charity care in 2010, and about 66 percent of uninsured patients interviewed by the two newspapers said they were never informed of a hospital's charity care policy.
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The news report outlines seven proposed changes to state hospital regulations.
1. Require hospitals to post charity care policies in prominent places.
2. Make it easier for patients to apply for charity care.
3. Establish state rules on who gets charity care.
4. Require hospitals to report charity care spending to the state.
5. Prohibit hospitals from putting liens on the homes of patients with few resources.
6. Require credit agencies to remove medical debts from reports after a bill is paid.
7. Make hospital prices more transparent.
The news report cites the hurdles a regulatory reform faces in North Carolina. "Any lawmakers attempting to bring about significant change will likely find themselves hearing from well-connected hospital lobbyists," it says.
Patient advocates' call for change comes shortly after two North Carolina newspapers released findings that many non-profit hospitals' profits outpaced their charity care. Roughly 33 percent of non-profit hospitals in the state spent less than 2 percent of their budgets on charity care in 2010, and about 66 percent of uninsured patients interviewed by the two newspapers said they were never informed of a hospital's charity care policy.
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