Washington State Hospitals Adopt Guidelines To Improve Charity Care

Community hospitals in Washington state on Wednesday announced that they adopted new guidelines for providing no-cost and discounted care to low-income, uninsured state residents, the Spokane Spokesman-Review reports. Under the guidelines, all community hospitals will voluntarily provide no-cost care to residents with annual incomes at or below the federal poverty level and provide discounted care to residents with annual incomes up to 200% of the poverty level. Other uninsured residents who meet certain financial criteria also can qualify for discounts, according to the guidelines. In addition, hospital boards will become more involved in the collection process of unpaid bills, and the hospitals will provide patients with written notices about financial assistance eligibility. According to the Spokesman-Review, Washington hospitals wrote off about $217 million in charity care in 2005. The guidelines were developed after state lawmakers last year questioned why "some of the lowest-income, uninsured patients [were] being sent the highest bills," according to the Spokesman-Review. Washington hospitals now are seeking legislation that would subsidize more insurance coverage costs and increase Medicaid reimbursement rates (Stucke, Spokane Spokesman-Review, 1/11).