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Health4all

Every year more Alaskan families lose health insurance and can't afford health care. Every year more families with health insurance cannot afford to use it because of expensive out-of-pocket charges. Every year more Alaskan elders with Medicare are refused treatment by local physicians. And every year health care in Alaska continues to cost 30 percent more than down south. These problems are a reflection of the crisis across the nation. Not surprisingly, the United States ranks last in preventable deaths compared to 14 Western European nations. We have a lot to talk about.

Lawrence D. Weiss retired from UAA in 2004 as a research professor in public health. He designed and built the Master of Public Health program at UAA, and has published three books and numerous articles on public health and health policy issues. He completed a post-doctoral degree at Harvard School of Public Health in 1982, and has been in Alaska ever since. His favorite expression is "facts matter." Occasionally he can be found in a local pub drinking beer and eating pizza while engaged in passionate conversation with friends.

Policies to Protect Families From Medical Debt

Posted by health4all

Posted: May 30, 2008 - 5:56 pm

Have you or someone you know been in a hospital lately? Was the result a massive hospital bill threatening to plunge your family or the family of your friend into debt? This is not an infrequent event in Alaska and across the nation. As a result, FamiliesUSA has compiled a very useful "overview of some of the progressive reform measures that state policymakers have implemented to help families struggling with medical debt." The name of the document says it all, A Pound of Flesh: Hospital Billing, Debt Collection, and Patients' Rights. Here are a few of the policies adopted by states to protect families with medical debt:

In 2003, Connecticut passed Public Act 03-266, "An Act Concerning Hospital Billing Practices." This act strengthens an existing state law that requires hospitals to notify patients about the availability
of free and discounted care.

In July 2006, Illinois passed the Hospital Fair Billing and Collection Practices Act (HB 4999). This law ensures that Illinois patients, both the uninsured and the insured, are protected from unfair hospital billing and collection practices. The bill established required hospital billing practices, as well as uniform debt collection procedures for collection agencies. The law also strictly prohibits collection agencies and hospital attorneys from using abusive, harassing, oppressive, false, deceptive, or misleading language during the debt collection process. This law went into effect on January 1, 2007

In 2005, the Minnesota Attorney General's office forged an agreement with more than 50 hospitals from across the state regarding their debt collection practices for the uninsured. The hospitals agreed to charge a fair price for care and to be less aggressive in their debt collection practices. Under the agreement, uninsured patients who make less than $125,000 a year receive the same discounts that insurance companies receive from the hospitals. This can mean a 40-60 percent price
reduction for services.

Sound good? We could have policies like this in Alaska with the push of active constituents and the response of leading legislators.

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Policies to Protect Families From Medical Debt