In Los Angeles County, the nation’s most populous, a new system could screen hospital patients for financial aid, preventing hundreds of thousands from getting bills they can’t pay.
Health Care Policies
Posted inHidden Help
Hidden Help: What Happened When Oregon Forced Hospitals to Boost Financial Aid?
In the second episode of our special series on medical debt, we explore lessons from Oregon’s aggressive legislation to push hospitals to prevent patients from falling into medical debt.
Posted inHidden Help
Hidden Help: A New Push for Hospitals to Prevent Medical Debt
Hospitals can automatically wipe out the cost of care for low-income patients. A Tradeoffs analysis finds that hospitals in Texas could be doing more to protect people from unaffordable bills.
Posted inHidden Help
7 Takeaways From an Investigation Into Financial Aid at Texas Hospitals
Hospitals can prevent medical debt by preemptively wiping out a patient’s bill. But a Tradeoffs analysis finds that few nonprofit facilities in Texas use this tool to the maximum benefit of patients.
Posted inHidden Help
Hospitals Have a Little-Known Tool to Prevent Medical Debt. Here’s How It Works.
Getting financial assistance from hospitals often involves filling out cumbersome applications. Some states now require hospitals to identify and automatically enroll patients eligible for charity care.
Posted inCost of Care
How the No Surprises Act Solved One Problem and Created Another
A conversation co-hosted by Tradeoffs and Penn LDI examines how arbitration rules are inflating payments and overwhelming the system.
Posted inHealth Law
How a Supreme Court Fight Over Fish Oil Could Raise Your Prescription Drug Costs
The justices are set to hear Hikma v. Amarin, a battle over drug patents that could raise costs for patients and change the way generic companies do business.
Posted inPublic Health
Inside Maryland’s High-Stakes Bid for Trump’s $50 Billion Rural Health Fund
The White House asked states to compete for a rare pot of new money dedicated to transforming health care across rural America.
Posted inPublic Health
One State’s Sprint for its Share of $50 Billion for Rural Health: Part 2
Maryland finds out how much the state will get from a nationwide competition for federal rural health investment.
Posted inNews & Announcements
Letter from the Editor: A Consequential Year
A message from Tradeoffs founder and executive editor Dan Gorenstein.