Hospitals can automatically wipe out the cost of care for low-income patients. A Tradeoffs analysis finds that hospitals in Texas could be doing more to protect people from unaffordable bills.
That’s one big reason Tradeoffs decided to focus on Texas for “Hidden Help,” our new investigative series in collaboration with KFF Health News.
We’ve spent the last year reporting in Texas and other states where lawmakers believe they’ve found a way to prevent people from experiencing the crushing harms of medical debt. It’s called presumptive eligibility, a wonky name for a simple idea: have hospitals screen patients for financial aid and then automatically give it to them before sending big bills.
This story is part of Hidden Help,…