Hospitals; financial assistance for uninsured patient, payment plans.

Hospitals; debt collection; determination of patient eligibility for financial assistance. Requires every hospital to (i) make reasonable efforts to screen every uninsured patient to determine whether the individual is eligible for Medicaid or financial assistance under the hospital’s financial assistance policy, (ii) may a payment plan available to every uninsured patient who is determined to be eligible for financial assistance under the hospital’s financial assistance policy if requested by the patient, (iii) develop a process for renegotiation of a payment plan, and (iv) report information about charity care, discounted care, or other financial assistance provided by the hospital under its financial assistance policy and the amount of the hospital’s uncollected bad debt. The bill prohibits hospitals from engaging in extraordinary collection actions to collect patient accounts receivable unless the hospital has undertaken all reasonable efforts to determine whether a patient with delinquent debt is eligible for Medicaid or other financial assistance under the hospital’s financial assistance policy. The bill also requires every hospital that is subject to the requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to make information about the hospital’s charity care policy available to individuals with low English proficiency in accordance with federal requirements.