Advocates, lawmakers push hospitals to help more with bills
“The Affordable Care Act requires nonprofit hospitals to tell patients about financial help, but it leaves the details for how that gets done or the extent of the assistance largely up to them. Patient counselors see little consistency.
Hospitals say they often notify patients several times about available help. They’ve also eased income limits for assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic, and some have smoothed out cumbersome applications.
But it can be hard to identify everyone who needs help, said Rick Gundling, a senior vice president with the Healthcare Financial Management Association, which consults with hospitals.”