Study co-pays’ impact on poor, Texas physicians urge

Physicians at JPS Health Network, Tarrant County, TX's taxpayer-supported public hospital system, are concerned that co-pays could be a barrier to patient care and has asked the administration to study their impact on the poor. The chairwoman of the JPS Health Network family medicine department has suggested finding a way to reduce co-pays for patients, especially for return test visits or when patients need ongoing treatments. Other physicians suggested that JPS use some of its surpluses to either reduce co-pays, waive them entirely, or find ways to group some payments together.