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Charity policies vary by hospital health bill: Did you pay extra?

What you’re charged and what you owe depends on which hospital you went to for treatment.

Hospitals’ aid info can be hard to find

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By Jim DeBrosse, Staff Writer Updated 12:58 PM Sunday, April 19, 2009

When her 61-year-old uninsured sister was diagnosed with breast cancer in February and ran up charges of $42,000 at Good Samaritan North Hospital, Darlene Baker of West Milton thought she would have no problem finding adequate financial assistance for her sister’s family.

After all, her sister makes just $16,000 a year at a giant retail chain. Her sister’s husband receives another $11,000 in Social Security. Together they earn $27,000, or a little less than twice the federal poverty level of $14,000 per couple.

But while Good Samaritan’s policy allows up to a 50 percent discount on the total bill, the remaining $21,000 is still far more than her sister and husband can afford to pay, said Baker, whose sister earns too much to qualify for Medicaid. “I’m amazed,” Baker said. “I thought the help was out there, but it isn’t.”

That can depend on where you receive your care. If Baker’s sister had gone to Springfield Regional Medical Center, her care would have been free. If she had gone to Kettering Medical Center, her bill would have been discounted by a different formula. Parents of children treated at Children’s Medical Center don’t get direct help from the hospital but can qualify for expanded Medicaid assistance under the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Nonprofit hospitals are expected to provide charity care as part of their tax-exempt status and as recipients of millions of dollars in taxpayer money. But Ohio has no requirements for assisting patients who earn more than the federal poverty level.

“It leaves far too many people in need of assistance out in the cold, particularly in this economic climate,” said Renee Markus Hodin, executive director of Community Catalyst Inc., a health care policy advocacy group based in Boston.

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