The Washington State Hospital Association on Monday criticized proposed rules that would allow out-of-state patients to receive charity care, saying such policies would make health care less accessible and more expensive for Washington residents. He filed a lawsuit against the state Department of Health, alleging that he died.
“Hospitals are expected to provide free or discounted care to anyone, anywhere. The new approach will make Washington a medical tourism destination,” said Taya Briley, an attorney for the association. said in a statement.
Washington state’s charity care law, first enacted in 1989, requires hospitals to provide financial assistance for out-of-pocket medical expenses to patients who are within 300 percent of the federal poverty level. This would set an annual cap of $43,000 for individuals and $90,000 for families of four. Some hospitals target people within her 400% of the poverty level.
Four million Washington residents are eligible for free or discounted hospital care under an expanded charity care program passed by Congress last year.
“About half of all Washington residents will be eligible for free or low-cost care at Washington state hospitals,” the attorney general’s office said last year when implementing the expanded program. “These protections apply to hospital out-of-pocket costs, including copays and deductibles, regardless of insurance status. We provide protection.”
The hospital association, on behalf of its member hospitals, challenged the Department of Health’s interpretation of the latest law to extend benefits to patients living out of state but being treated in Washington.
The Department of Health decided last month that “current law does not support the use of geographic boundaries to determine eligibility for charity care.”
“A hospital may not adopt a policy that excludes a patient from charity care eligibility if the patient is income eligible,” the department wrote. The report claimed that a “small number” of hospitals were restricting eligibility to people within geographic boundaries (an entire state or smaller boundaries such as a county or a hospital’s ZIP code).
The Ministry of Health has asked hospitals that violate its interpretation of the law to amend their charity care policies by January 16 to comply with their charity care policies.
Hospitals across the state filed lawsuits rather than comply with administrative rules.
“The department’s new (and incorrect) interpretation of the law would have the exact opposite effect of Congress’s intent in enacting the Charity Care Act, which would give Washington hospitals free or By mandating that care be provided at a discounted price, the department said it would “reduce access for Washingtonians and increase the cost of care for Washingtonians, which would inevitably subsidize the cost of free care for people from out of state.” will increase,” the lawsuit filed Monday in Thurston County Superior Court says.
A Department of Health spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit, but issued a statement regarding the department’s responsibility for charity care programs.
“The agency is tasked with supporting the Charity Care Act and ensuring that patients who meet the program’s criteria receive care regardless of their economic status. The agency’s mission is to support the health and well-being of patients. “This is the case,” the Ministry of Health’s statement said.
According to the hospital association, the increased costs under the administrative rules will be passed on to patients in the state who pay for their hospitalization.
“There is no such thing as free care. Nurses, doctors, pharmacists, housekeepers and other staff who look after charity care patients must still be paid,” said the hospital association’s chief executive ( CEO Kathy Sauer said in a statement. “Under the department’s interpretation, people who live in Washington will be subsidizing compassionate care services for people who come from out of state.”
Washington hospitals provided $370 million worth of free or discounted care in 2021 through charity care policies.
