New York Hospitals Saddle Uninsured Patients With Massive Debt Despite Millions in Gov’t Aid

As the ranks of the uninsured continue to rise, a major new study has found that most New York medical centers are violating rules intended to help patients who are uninsured and cannot afford health care. Two-thirds of hospitals studied either violated the law, failed to comply with state guidelines or created additional barriers to financial assistance, despite receiving a combined total of more than $463 million from the state’s Indigent Care Pool. We’re joined by three guests: Elisabeth Benjamin of the Community Service Society of New York, which conducted the two-year study; Jessica Curtis, the Hospital Accountability Project director at Community Catalyst, who says the problem is not unique to New York; and Hope Rubel, an uninsured patient who was sued some $88,000 in hospital bills by a hospital that took in more than $50 million in aid that same year. "[It] infuriated me that all this money is sitting in these hospitals’ bank accounts," Rubel says. [Rush transcript to come.

Video
Source: Democracy Now! 
Author: --