NC Medicaid recipients will be eligible for elimination of hospital debt
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services agreed on the plan details, which build on a Medicaid reimbursement program started recently for a variety of healthcare centers and providers. The deadline for the hospitals to sign on was last week and as of Tuesday, all hospitals committed to participation in the plan.
The plan details state that debt as far back as 2014 for Medicaid recipients will be eligible for elimination by July 1 of 2025. Certain patients who are not enrolled in Medicaid but have limited income will also be considered for the debt forgiveness, but only for debts incurred more than 2 years ago.
The NC Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kody Kinsley shared a proposal submitted to federal Medicaid regulators which had the potential to impact 2 million patients and their debt load. Currently, those 2 million people account for $4 million in medical debt in NC.“We are often confronted with messages that tackling medical debt is impossible,” said Jose Penabad, a board member with Undue Medical Debt, a national group that will work with North Carolina hospitals, but “today is a message of hope.
”In the new calendar year, hospitals will also actively participate in achieving a goal of low debt accumulation for people who meet certain criteria. Those who qualify for food stamps and welfare programs will automatically be enrolled in charity care programs. Hospitals will also have to limit their aggressive debt collection practices that seem to have exploded in recent years. Credit reporting agencies will no longer be notified of outstanding debt, which will provide a big relief to those who have experienced the hassle and complexity with dealing with clearing a collections summons.
The North Carolina Healthcare Association stated, “We are also committed to addressing the root causes of medical debt and will continue to work with partners to improve access to affordable, high-quality care,” the group added.
