Medical debt threatens access to care! YES on AB 1312

AB1312

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Medical debt threatens access to care! YES on AB 1312

Email Subject:

Dear [Your Elected Official],

As your constituent, I ask you to vote YES on AB 1312, which requires all hospitals to screen patients most likely to qualify for financial assistance and determine eligibility prior to billing the patient.
Rising health care costs are threatening patients’ access to care. California has some of the highest costs in the country for inpatient hospital care, forcing patients to skip or delay care when they need it the most – making health conditions worse. In 2023, over one million Californians were unable to pay for basic necessities due to medical debt. Financial assistance or charity care at a hospital is supposed to ease these financial burdens, but patients continue to face barriers in receiving aid. So, a visit to a hospital emergency room that would be covered by charity care can result in thousands of dollars in medical bills, driving more families into medical debt.
 More than one in three Californians reported medical debt in 2023. More than half of Californians who are Black, speak Spanish, or have low incomes (under 200% Federal Poverty Level) – and nearly half of Latino Californians – reported medical debt. One-third of Californians with medical debt owe more than $2,500. A national survey by the Urban Institute found that nearly 73% of adults with past-due medical debt owed some or all of it to hospitals.
Every patient that comes into a hospital should know by the time they leave whether or not they qualify for charity care. Setting clear prescreening standards in California will prevent patients from slipping through the cracks.
 California must be a leader in establishing a proactive screening process and provide eligible patients with charity care without extra hassles and red tape. Some hospitals in California, and nationwide, have already implemented similar mechanisms to streamline billing processes. AB 1312 captures these best practices and will ensure eligible patients receive financial assistance entitled to them by law. This will prevent patients and their families from falling into medical debt.
 For these reasons, I ask that you support AB 1312 (Schiavo).

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

[Your City & State]

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Summary

From Friends Committee on Legislation of California AB 1312 will help keep low-income Californians from falling into the medical debt that plagues more than one-third of the people living in our state. Rising health care costs are threatening patients' access to care, and California has some of the highest costs in the country for inpatient hospital care. Financial assistance or charity care at a hosptial is supposed to ease the financial burden, but patients often face significant barriers in receiving aid.  Every patient who comes into a hospital should know by the time they leave whether they qualify for charity care. California must be a leader in establishing a proactive screeniing process and provide eligible patients with charity care without extra hassles and red tape. AB 1312 captures the best practices used around the country to streamline billing and charity care and ensures that patients receive the financial assistance they are entitled to by law.

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