New York StateWide Senior Action Council (www.nysenior.org) Announces It's Medicare Fraud of the Month for December: Ending Medical Debt for Seniors

ALBANY, N.Y., Dec. 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- New York StateWide Senior Action Council (StateWide), an organization dedicated to advocacy for the rights of seniors in New York State today announced its Medicare Fraud of the Month for December; Ending Medical Debt for Seniors.

The StateWide Fraud of the Month is a component of the Senior Medical Patrol, the definitive resource for New York State's senior citizens and caregivers to detect, prevent, and report healthcare fraud, errors, and abuse. StateWide is New York's grantee/administrator for this Federal Program.

StateWide is working to educate older citizens about their rights when facing hospital out of pocket costs that are unaffordable and eradicate this crippling debt.

According to Maria Alvarez, StateWide's Executive Director, "Hospitals in the state should be explaining how to get assistance with paying your outstanding bills, no matter whether you have insurance that is not meeting your needs or are uninsured." She added, "Medical debt has plagued many Americans, including those who are "fully" insured, underinsured and uninsured."

A recent Journal of General Internal Medicine study revealed that out-of-pocket medical expenditures in the five years prior to an individual's death totaled more than $38,000…leaving 1 in 4 seniors approaching bankruptcy.

The impact of medical debt for seniors is far reaching:

• Negative impact on health: studies show that these debts can rollover into further medical issues such as stress & high blood pressure — leading to even more medical costs/debt.
• Patients in debt sacrifice accessing health care because of costs (e.g., delayed care, avoided care, cut pills, or didn't fill a prescription).
• Negative impact on consumer credit ratings, leading to higher interest on loans, mortgages & more.
• Two thirds of all bankruptcies filed in the United States are tied to medical expenses.
• Medical debt judgments disproportionately impact low-income New Yorkers and people of color
• Between 2015 and 2020, over 52,000 New Yorkers were sued by hospitals for payment of medical debt

Alvarez continued, "Often hospital bills contain errors. Do not ignore them! Check your hospital bills. Review your insurer's Explanation of Benefits or Medicare Summary notice and Get help from StateWide – call our SMP hotline 800-333-4374."

"Federal law requires hospitals to offer charity care in order to keep their tax-exempt status. New York's Hospital Financial Assistance Law requires hospitals to have payment relief program for patients under 300% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). NYS provides hospitals with billions for uncompensated care." she stated.

But hospitals don't have to tell you. Hospitals can send your case to collection even while you are applying for their debt relief program. Hospitals can each have their own confusing system, application, and requirements.

However, there is help. Call StateWide's Health Insurance, Patients' Rights & Fraud Prevention Helpline at 1-800-333-4374 for assistance.

StateWide is actively working to assist elders in eradicating crippling medical debt. It is calling for:

• Enacting the NY Health Act (NYS) and Improved Medicare for All (federal) to end all out-of-pocket health care costs.
• Establishing a uniform application for hospital medical debt
• Expanding the income limits for hospital debt relief programs from 300% of the FPL to 600% FPL 
• Prohibiting hospitals from sending unpaid balances to collection before hospital payment application processes have been exhausted, or insurance appeals have been finalized.
• Improve NYS Dept of Health audits of hospitals' compliance with requirements regarding debt assistance and increase consequences for failure.

It is also seeking your help. "We need our State's older residents to tell their stories to amplify the need for change," Alvarez stated.

'Share your story. You are not alone. Your experience can empower others to conquer medical debt. Your stories can illustrate the need to question unfair hospital debt collection practices and seek improvements for all," she concluded

It is estimated that Medicare fraud costs New York taxpayers over $5 billion dollars a year. To help combat this illicit industry StateWide earlier this year announced its Fraud of the Month program to highlight these scams being perpetrated on the State's seniors.

If you suspect unfair hospital billing practices or any Medicare fraud, immediately call our Senior Medical Patrol Hotline, at 800-333-4374 or visit the StateWide website, www.nysenior.org.

SOURCE New York StateWide Senior Action Council, Inc.