Atrium Health says it is wiping out all existing judgments and liens against patients for unpaid medical bills, offering relief to scores of North Carolinians who have been sued by the hospital system. "It's been a 20-year battle, like an albatross around my neck," said Terry Belk, a Charlotte patient with medical debt who has been an outspoken critic of Atrium's collection practices. "It has threatened to take everything I built up. It's been stressful — financially, mentally and somewhat physically — having this hanging over me." Belk, 68, said he has more than $40,000 in medical debt and a lien on his home related to breast cancer treatment for his wife, Sandra, who died in 2012, and his own more recent treatment for prostate cancer. He said he learned about the change after calling an Atrium vice president earlier this week. In North Carolina, medical debt judgments can last for 20 years and automatically place liens against patients' homes, allowing hospitals to collect their money when the home is sold. Medical debts also accrue 8% interest per year as long as they remain unpaid. Atrium's announcement comes amid growing pressure on hospitals nationwide to reform their debt collection and billing practices as the number of Americans struggling with medical debt soars. About one in five North Carolina residents has medical debt in collections, according to an Urban Institute analysis.
After temporarily suspending operations in May, Hicksville's Community Memorial Hospital (CMH) officially closed its doors at the end of August. Now, 13 Action News is learning the hospital allegedly stole nearly $3 million from its employees' retirement. "There are a lot of people who are really upset with the situation because four thousand people relied on this place," James Siler, who has been a patient at CMH for most of his life, said. "It's an inconvenience for sure. But there are a lot of people who have it a lot worse than me that's for sure." Siler's primary care physician, Dr. Vasavi Reddy, is one of only a handful of doctors still operating out of the hospital. Reddy is employed through the Parkview Health system. "Unfortunately, there's still a lot of instability in our practice location. Right now, Parkview is renting this space for me, but we don't know the future of the building," Reddy said.
Yes, hospitals are closing around the country, but even more often, hospitals shut down specific services, especially relatively unprofitable ones like maternity care and behavioral healthcare. This leads to what gets referred to as "care deserts." Closures may not be all bad, but most of them ultimately make it harder for patients to access care — and some patients are more likely than others to be impacted. Many experts will tell you that all hospitals can't be all things to all people amid the U.S.' demographic changes and care advancements, and some argue the closure of some hospitals or services actually has some positive outcomes in terms of efficiencies or quality. But a big problem is that hospitals are responding to the financial incentives created by both government and private insurers, and those incentives aren't always aligned with what society writ large wants from a hospital.
Patients could be spared huge, unexpected bills for ambulance rides under a new plan aimed at closing a gap in the surprise billing law. Many Americans avoid calling 911 when they're having a medical crisis because of cost concerns. Others get stuck with massive unanticipated bills that are a major driver of medical debt in the U.S. A committee of ambulance providers, patient advocates, insurance experts, and other advisers is recommending Congress adopt a tiered payment system for reimbursing out-of-network ambulance rides.
An Alabama hospital was given S&P Global's lowest bond rating of "D" on Wednesday, a day after it defaulted on bond interest payments. Jackson Hospital & Clinic in Montgomery defaulted on about $60 million worth of Medical Clinic Board of the City of Montgomery series 2015 bonds, which comprises 86% of the hospital's long-term debt, the S&P said in a statement explaining why it lowered the hospital's rating to "D" from "CC."