This means that hospitals in New Jersey must follow all state laws when it comes to collecting debt and pursuing unpaid bills. They also must give free or low-cost medical care to patients who cannot afford it. This means that if you do not have health insurance, the state will not make you pay a lot of money for your medical bills. The state also helps by creating regulations to protect patients from illegal or aggressive medical debt collectors.
There are many ways to get help. The Hospital Care Payment Assistance Program is a law that protects families from having to pay for hospital care. The second rule to protect families is known as Public Law 2008. So that patients can be provided with the following assistance.
residents of New Jersey who qualify for free healthcare will not be billed or subject to medical debt collection. They are protected from the agencies that do this. Patients who are eligible for health care on a sliding scale will not be billed or have collections procedures started for the portion of their medical debt that is supposed to be covered by the free charity care program. This reduces the resident’s debt. They need to stop contacting people to collect debts.
Laws require that health care providers notify patients about free or discounted charity care so that people do not get into debt in the future. The person needs to be told about these services when they arrive and before the service is done. They also need to show them how to apply for financial assistance with medical bills.
If it is not possible to do this for some reason, the notification should happen when the person gets the bills. In addition, hospitals located in New Jersey are required to post notices about the charity care programs they offer. This notice must be posted in conspicuous locations throughout the hospital.
This means that hospitals in New Jersey are not allowed to charge patients who do not have insurance and whose household income is below 500% of the poverty level set by the federal government. This protects them from having to pay too much for health care, and from being aggressively pursued by collectors. This means that medical providers can only charge up to 15% more than what Medicare will reimburse them.
The state requires that hospitals provide free or discounted charity care to families and individual, including free medications, with incomes up to 300 percent of the poverty. This program is responsible for overseeing the New Jersey Hospital Care Payment Assistance Program. In order to be eligible for this program, you must pass certain asset tests.
If you are a patient and your income is below 200 percent of the government poverty levels, you will be able to get free health care. The rule also regulates what a hospital billing department can do to collect a debt. The law regulates the time of when collection agencies can call, ensures payment plans are offered, and provides other protections to families in New Jersey.
The law will protect consumers from paying too much for their medical care. This also reduces the stress of having to deal with collection companies. This means that if your household income is between 200 and 300 percent of the poverty level, you will receive reduced medical care costs.