Iowa patients would receive credit toward their health insurance deductible by paying for health care services in cash under a bill state lawmakers advanced Monday.
Indiana lawmakers are pushing to slash hospital prices after a Guardian investigation chronicled how one of the state's largest non-profit hospital chains bought up its competition and used its market power to stick patients with some of the highest bills in the country. A new bill introduced last week in the Indiana general assembly would strip non-profit hospitals of their tax-free status if they continue to charge commercially insured patients more than 200% of what the federal government pays for the same services under Medicare.
The one-time grant doesn't mean Bucktail Medical Center — which has about 80 employees — is safe from future challenges. Hospital administrators didn't say how long they expect the $1 million to last.
Beth Israel Lahey Health announced that it is making layoffs. A spokesperson for Beth Israel told Boston 25 News the layoffs are occurring in the face of "significant cost increase, a limited reimbursement environment and changing patient care trends." Beth Israel Lahey Health oversees 14 hospitals across Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The health system booked a $110 million operating loss for a 9-month period ending in June 2024.
NeuroBehavioral Hospitals of the Palm Beaches, which operates two facilities in Boynton Beach and West Palm Beach, may close in the coming months due to the bankruptcy of its parent company, Wellpath Holdings. This potential closure could result in the loss of more than 170 jobs, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notice filed with the state of Florida.
The ACA requires nonprofit hospitals to have a FAP, make it publicly available, and refrain from taking extraordinary debt collection actions before determining FAP eligibility. However, there is no federal requirement for a minimum level of financial assistance hospitals must provide. As a result, eligibility requirements and available discounts vary considerably across U.S. hospitals.