New Medical Costs Law in New York Freezes out Collection Agencies

Published on:
12 September 2006 at 10:21 a.m. ET

Written by: Unknown Author –

http://www.insidearm.com/news/00015614-new-medical-costs-law-in-new-york-freezes/

Poorer patients with no health insurance will now be able to catch a break at Long Island, NY hospitals, according to a story appearing yesterday in Newsday. Legislators agreed Tuesday to a cap on how much hospitals can charge low- to poverty-level uninsured patients.

According to advocates for the poor, hospitals have long overcharged low- to middle-income uninsured patients. The new budget requires various low-cost payment options for low- and poverty-level patients, including sliding fee scales. It also carries provisions that keep hospitals from forcing the sale of a patient’s home to pay for back medical bills. It also ensures that hospitals cannot turn these delinquent accounts over to collection agencies.

Read more about this story at Poorer patients catch a break.