We often hear that hospitals are not telling patients about charity care, free or reduced medical care for those who are financially eligible. A new NoHLA statewide report shows that many hospitals are not in compliance with the notice requirements of the charity care law, even though they have been in effect for more than five years. The report finds:

• an estimated one-third of callers to Washington hospitals are not being told about charity care, 
• many hospital websites do not include accurate information about eligibility requirements;
• one-third of hospitals do not post a plain language summary of the policy on their websites.

The results were included in a letter led by NoHLA that included more than 40 organizations calling on the Washington Department of Health (DOH) to take action and continue rulemaking to incorporate changes to the law from SHB 1616 and previously SSB 6273. The rules process stalled after the Washington State Hospital Association sued the DOH for trying to enforce the law with guidance. Read the press release here.

Hospital patients unaware of charity care can end up with a pile of unpaid hospital bills that turn into medical debt. That medical debt is then assigned to a debt collector that can tack on up to 50% more on the charges (for public hospitals), garnish up to 20% of every paycheck, or wipe out all but $2,000 in a bank account. It is estimated 5% of the state population, or 400,000 people, are being hounded by debt collectors for medical bills. 

Every day that passes without regulations reflecting the current charity care law means more people are accumulating medical debt unnecessarily, with disproportionate effects on communities of color. Of Washington residents recently surveyed who were asked about whether they incurred medical debt, depleted savings, or sacrificed basic necessities because of medical bills in the last year, for Hispanic/Latinx respondents, the answer was “yes” for 54% and for Black/African American respondents it was 56%, compared to 35% of white respondents.