Government
Uninsured discounts OK, HHS says
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted March 8, 2004
Responding to a query from the American Hospital Assn., the Dept of Health and Human Services has published guidelines clarifying that hospitals can offer discounted rates to uninsured patients. "Hospitals can provide discounts to uninsured and underinsured patients who cannot afford their hospital bills and to Medicare beneficiaries who cannot afford their Medicare cost-sharing obligations," wrote HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson in a letter to the AHA. "Nothing in the Medicare program rules or regulations prohibit such discounts." Patient advocates have long complained that because of hospitals' price structures, which are often inflated to deal with deep discounts offered to managed care, the uninsured end up paying much more than anyone else for the same services.
"The administration has acknowledged what the hospital field has long known: Existing federal rules are 'scattered' and lead to confusion," said AHA President Dick Davidson. "The guidance finally puts us on the road toward clarity."
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/03/08/gvbf0308.htm.
