Back in October 2021, I wrote a post for Just Care on how to lower your hospital costs if your income is low. Many people who qualify for charity care are unaware that they might qualify for a free or low-cost hospital care under a hospital’s policy. If you are able, before going to the hospital, find out whether it offers charity care, and, if so, who qualifies and whether any physicians are excluded from their charity care policy.
The Affordable Care Act requires non-profit hospitals to offer charity care to people with low incomes. They might reduce their charges or, in some cases, cancel them altogether if your income is below a certain level. But, most people don’t know about this requirement, and hospitals don’t often tell you about it.
Since it became law, many nonprofit hospitals have made it a lot more difficult for people struggling to pay for their hospital care to get charity care. Moreover, some physicians who provide you care at the hospital might not be covered under the hospital’s charity care policy, reports Filipa Carvalho for the Lown Institute. However, hospitals must disclose their financial assistance policy (FAP), including which physicians are covered and which are not.
If your income is low, it’s wise to ask your hospital about its policy for providing charity care and for an application before you are admitted to the hospital. You might want to see about using a different hospital if it appears that it will be challenging to get charity care.
When using a hospital offering charity care (a non-profit hospital), even if your income is higher than the hospital’s income limit, you should still apply, if paying the bill will put you in medical debt. You have 240 days from receiving a hospital bill to apply, and it could save you thousands of dollars.
If the hospital sends a collection agency after you, call the hospital and let the staff know you are applying for charity care and you’d like them to stop the collection agency from trying to get you to pay.
Here’s more from Just Care:
- Are lower income individuals enrolling in Medicare Advantage for the wrong reasons, at their peril?
- Four things to know if your income is low and you have Medicare
- Providence Health sued for failing to provide charity care to low-income patients
- 2024: Programs that lower your health care costs if you have Medicare
- Plan ahead for a hospital visit: Talk to the people you love about these seven important items
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