The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved North Carolina’s new Medicaid directed hospital payment program, which aims to reduce patients’ medical debt. Participating hospitals will receive increased Medicaid reimbursement under the Healthcare Access and Stabilization Program (HASP).
To receive the increased payment, hospitals must implement these policies:
- Relieve all medical debt deemed uncollectible, dating back to Jan. 1, 2014, for any individuals not enrolled in Medicaid with incomes at or below at least 350 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) or for whom total debt exceeds 5 percent of annual income
- Relieve all unpaid medical debt, dating back to Jan. 1, 2014, for individuals who are enrolled in Medicaid
- Provide discounts on medical bills of 50 to 100 percent for patients with incomes at or below 300 percent of FPL, with the amount of the discount varying based on the patient’s income
- Automatically enroll people into financial assistance, by implementing a policy for presumptively determining individuals eligible for financial assistance through a streamlined screening and income validation approach.
- Not sell to debt collectors any medical debt for consumers with incomes at or below 300 percent of FPL
- Not report a patient’s debt covered by these policies to a credit reporting agency
The program could relieve up to $4 billion in medical debt. As of this writing, all the state’s 99 eligible hospitals have committed to participate in the program.
Contact Director of Policy Rob Nelb, MPH, at rnelb@essentialhospitals.org or 202.585.0127 with questions.
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