Hospitals should refrain from charging top-dollar rates for services rendered to the 2 percent of Massachusetts residents who are uninsured, according to an editorial in The Boston Globe.
Most residents who remain uninsured after the 2006 state healthcare overhaul are lower-income patients who are either waiting for coverage programs, such as MassHealth and Commonwealth Care, to take effect or who have failed to sign up for programs.
While these patients should still have to pay for medical care, many healthcare systems are charging them the rates hospitals use to being negotiations with insurers, or rates no one else would be asked to pay for procedures.
The federal Affordable Care Act will soon force nonprofit hospitals to explain financial assistance programs to patients, and state legislators are looking to require hospital to limit the amount they charge uninsured patients. But to improve their chances of getting paid and keep people from falling further into debt, hospitals should offer discounted services to those who remain uninsured.
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Most residents who remain uninsured after the 2006 state healthcare overhaul are lower-income patients who are either waiting for coverage programs, such as MassHealth and Commonwealth Care, to take effect or who have failed to sign up for programs.
While these patients should still have to pay for medical care, many healthcare systems are charging them the rates hospitals use to being negotiations with insurers, or rates no one else would be asked to pay for procedures.
The federal Affordable Care Act will soon force nonprofit hospitals to explain financial assistance programs to patients, and state legislators are looking to require hospital to limit the amount they charge uninsured patients. But to improve their chances of getting paid and keep people from falling further into debt, hospitals should offer discounted services to those who remain uninsured.
More Articles on Coding, Billing and Collections:
NovaHealth, Aetna Collaboration Lowered Costs, Hospital Readmissions
California Sues Plastic Surgeon for Aggressive Billing Tactics
Survey: 96% of Healthcare Officials Worried About ICD-10 Impact