Supervisors Approve Ordinance to Require Hospitals to Report Medical Debt Data

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LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Aug. 7 voted to move forward with a new ordinance by Supervisor Janice Hahn that will require hospitals to report data on medical debt with the goal of identifying gaps in financial assistance and reducing the burden of medical debt on LA County residents in the future.

“Too many LA County residents have medical debt that they can’t afford and it is holding them back,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn. “If we can get data from hospitals on the patients who are burdened by medical debt and being sent to collections, we can begin to figure out how to tackle this problem going forward.”

Medical debt exceeds $2.9 billion for LA County residents, impacting one in ten adults in 2022 and disproportionately affecting families with children, lower-income, Latino, Black, American Indian, and Pacific Islander residents, and people with chronic health conditions. About 46% of this debt belongs to individuals with income under 200% of the federal poverty line.

Currently, hospitals report limited data to the state on the amount of financial assistance provided to their patients. However, the reporting does not include aggregate data on medical debt collections making it impossible to identify trends related to medical debt or gaps where financial assistance could help low-income patients in need.

This ordinance will require the seven acute care hospitals in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County to submit aggregate data on debt collection and financial assistance operations, as well as requiring hospitals to report on patients accounts advanced to collections. The ordinance complies with HIPAA and includes privacy protections so that data will not include any health information regarding diagnosis or treatment.

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This ordinance comes on the heels of a unanimous vote in June to approve Hahn’s proposal to develop and launch a $5 million pilot program to purchase and eliminate $500 million worth of medical debt for 150,000 LA County residents.

The ordinance will need a second reading at an upcoming Board of Supervisors meeting before it goes into effect. First reporting is due from hospitals 180 days after the ordinance goes into effect.