Hospital bills for the several hundred thousand Long Islanders who have no health insurance just got cheaper.
Under provisions in the new state budget, legislators agreed Tuesday to cap how much hospitals can charge low-income uninsured patients.
Guess who is going to get screwed on this deal?
"What is most shocking is that if you're poor and don't have health insurance you could be charged two, three, five times as much as someone with Medicaid."
What is STILL overlooked is this. How much is CHARGED is irrelevant. The elephant in the room that everyone ignores is how much is actually COLLECTED from this group.
The provisions also keep hospitals from forcing the sale of a person's home to pay for medical bills and from calling in a collection agency if the person has filed for financial aid.