Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | | MAY 15, 2023 17 in bad debt and $33 million in charity care, according to OHS data. "Partnering with RIP Medical Debt allows us to relieve those patients of their medical debt … while recov- ering a portion of that debt to help us continue providing the care our patients and communities need in a responsible and sustainable manner," Carter said. While hospitals can recover about the same amount of money by selling bad debt to RIP Medical as they could transferring it to a for-profit collection agency, the return is only part of the equation. "It is doing right by the patients," Sesso said, "and caring about the fact that when patients have medical debt, they avoid getting care that they need, and they feel a financial and emotional burden as a result of it." According to an article published in the medical journal AIMS Public Health, studies show that carrying medical debt can actually worsen a person's health, creating mental anguish and increasing the likeli- hood that someone will struggle with anxiety or depression. Medical debt is also a leading cause of bankruptcy. In February, as part of his bien- nial budget proposal, Gov. Ned Lamont announced a plan for the state to invest $20 million in federal COVID-19 recovery funding to contract with a nonprofit organi- zation that buys medical debt and eliminates it. That funding was not included in Member FDIC westfieldbank.com 413.568.1911 • 860.838.3766 • 800.995.5734 Open a CD at Westfield Bank today! Looking for a safe, convenient way to save? Check out our Certificates of Deposit (CDs). To be eligible for a WB Signature CD, all you need is a WB Signature or WB Performance checking account. A WB Portfolio CD requires a WB Portfolio Checking account. Opening your CD is easy. Just call or visit your nearest Westfield Bank location. Signature CDs can also be opened online at westfieldbank.com. *APY (Annual Percentage Yield) is effective as of the date of publication. A penalty may be imposed for early withdrawal. Minimum balance to open a certificate of deposit (CD) is $1,000. Minimum balance to obtain APY is $10.00. WB Signature CD requires a WB Signature Checking, WB Performance or WB Portfolio Checking account. WB Portfolio CD requires a WB Portfolio Checking account. Consumer accounts only. Landing a great parking spot is good. Finding one for your money? That's better. 4.65 Portfolio CD % APY* 9 Month 4.25 Signature CD % APY* 11 Month the General Assembly's Appropria- tions Committee budget, but will be part of upcoming budget negotiations, a Lamont spokesman said. The proposed legislation does not name the partner. "Trinity is the first hospital system that we are working with in Connecticut, but we are happy and eager to work with others," Sesso said. Capece said the hospital industry is facing a "perfect storm of rising costs," but believes RIP Medical could be a potential solution to the problems they're having collecting debt as costs soar. Compounding the problem, more people are entering Medicare programs as they reach the age of 65 — at a time when their healthcare needs are increasing, he said. That means hospitals are providing more care and receiving less money for it, as Medicare and Medicaid provide lower reimbursement rates than private insurers. "Costs keep spiraling up and spiraling up," Capece said. "And then when you throw on top of that, infla- tion that's out of control, supply costs, drug costs, shortages of labor that's driving up the cost of labor. I mean, it's just a perfect storm. … I don't know what the solution is. But every- body seems to think we'll just write it off, and believe me, if we could, we would. And we're trying every day. But it's getting harder and harder and harder to make ends meet." Mark Shaefer, vice president of system innovation and financing for the Connecticut Hospital Association, said bad debt usually stems from patients who are not on Medicare or Medicaid, but have inadequate health insurance. Schaefer said he sees RIP Medical helping to fill the gap. "We think it's become more important for organizations like RIP to do what they're doing, because there are a lot more high-deductible health plans," Schaefer said. "If you look at how those have increased from 10 years ago, they dominate the market, and there are many, many more families who are being covered by insurance plans that result in out-of- pocket costs that exceed what those families can afford." CT hospitals see rise in uncompensated care* $1B $800M $600M $400M $200M $0 *Uncompensated care includes bad debt (unpaid charges) and charity care (free care). Source: Office of Health Strategy FY 2018 2019 2020 2021 UNCOMPENSATED CARE $765,228,912 $806,042,599 $775,848,613 $833,938,232

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