As hospitalization increases, medical debt is also rising. With that, hospital charity care programs can help you avoid it, but how?
Hospital charity care programs for low-income communities with medical debt. (Photo: Unsplash)
What are the hospital charity care programs?
Hospital charity care is formed as financial assistance for people who got hospitalized and carry huge medical debt.
According to KFF, nonprofit hospitals in the country are required to provide hospital charity care to people who are unable to pay their hospitalizations. Aside from this hospital charity care, community hospitals can also accept donations from donors and the state itself to cover all the costs.
As per the report, some hospitals in the country have established their own kind of hospital charity care to provide assistance to hospitalized low-income communities. Some hospital charity care programs can cover half of the hospital costs or more than that.
Photo: Unsplash
How to avoid medical debt through hospital charity care programs?
As EBN stated, Americans are in a huge medical debt without knowing that they are eligible for hospital charity care programs. So, how can you avoid it?
With the Affordable Care Act, ALL nonprofit hospitals should offer their hospital charity care programs to their patients. According to Money Management, if they failed to provide you or offer you some assistance for a hospital charity care program, they could lose their nonprofit status.
In applying for a hospital charity care program, you should know that this is easy! First, you should know your hospital’s charity care policy. You can either check their website or go to the hospital itself. Then, submit your hospital charity care application with a letter, declaring your case why you can’t pay for your medical bills. If you’re rejected, you can still appeal and apply again.
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