Adjustments are coming to Washington’s state charity care regulation July 1.
4 issues to know:
1. The brand new regulation establishes obligatory low cost requirements for sufferers from 101 % to 200 % of the federal poverty stage, in keeping with the Washington State Hospital Affiliation.
2. It establishes two tiers of hospitals and establishes mandated free and discounted take care of every based mostly on a affected person’s household dimension and earnings relative to the federal poverty stage, in keeping with the affiliation. Tier 1 contains hospitals which can be a part of bigger programs. Tier 2 contains smaller, unbiased, and rural hospitals.
3. Hospitals should undertake procedures to determine sufferers eligible for retroactive Medicaid eligibility and help them in making use of for protection, in keeping with the affiliation. Hospitals will not be required to offer charity care to sufferers who don’t make cheap efforts to adjust to the applying course of.
4. The regulation establishes a definition of “indigent individuals” who could qualify for charity care, in keeping with the Washington State Hospital Affiliation. It specifies that indigent individuals are those that meet the federal poverty stage thresholds and have exhausted any third-party protection.
Learn extra concerning the adjustments right here.