Charity care needs to be better than this

Charity care is health care that is provided for free or at a reduced cost to eligible patients, with no expectation that the patient will pay. Under the Affordable Care Act, nonprofit hospitals are required to provide charity care to eligible patients, or risk losing their tax-exempt status. But data show large variation in how much charity care hospitals actually provide.  

In this episode of the Narrative Matters podcast, Health Affairs’ Jessica Bylander talks to David Velasquez, a student of medicine, public policy, and business at Harvard University. In this month’s Narrative Matters essay, Velasquez writes about navigating the unclear system of charity care after his father’s costly hospital stay for a heart attack. 

Velasquez says he wishes that low-income patients knew they have a right to ask hospitals to provide them with information about charity care. Ultimately, he hopes more patients gain access to health insurance coverage through actions of the Biden Administration, making the need for charity care less pressing. 

Following the interview, Velasquez reads his essay, “Charity Care Needs To Be Better Than This.”

Related Links:

• Charity Care Needs To Be Better Than This (Health Affairs)
• Analysis Suggests Government And Nonprofit Hospitals’ Charity Care Is Not Aligned With Their Favorable Tax Treatment (Health Affairs)
• Patients Eligible For Charity Care Instead Get Big Bills (Kaiser Health News)