LA: Public Health Reports Soil Test Results; Hospitals Charity Care Expands Access to Finacial Assistance

Public Health Releases Final Findings of Soil Testing in Fire-Impacted Areas

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health released the final findings from representative soil sample testing in and around the Eaton and Palisades fire areas, confirming a higher percentage of soil samples with lead levels above health-based screening thresholds from parcels with intact homes downwind of the Eaton Fire.

The final findings also confirmed localized chemical impacts to soil above health-based screening thresholds are present in the Palisades fire area, but there is no evidence of widespread contamination from fire-related chemicals.

Details: Find a full report on the Public Health website.

County Releases Report on Hospital Charity Care and Expands Access to Financial Assistance

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Sept. 16 released a report showing how hospitals provide financial assistance to patients and introduced new tools to strengthen charity care practices across the region.

LA County Department of Public Health found that hospitals in Los Angeles County reported $426.5 million of financial assistance in 2023. The four county operated Department of Health Services hospitals, which serve 16% of the Medi-Cal population, accounted for 38% of all financial assistance awarded. County hospitals awarded 4% of their gross patient revenue as financial assistance and nonprofit hospitals and for-profit hospitals awarded 1%. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital, a nonprofit hospital in historically underserved South Los Angeles, awarded 11% of its gross patient revenue as financial assistance, the highest in LA County. 

The analysis, based on federal and state data, comes amid the burden of medical debt on more than 880,000 residents—one in nine adults—who carried over $2.9 billion in debt last year. Even insured patients are affected, often facing food insecurity, unstable housing, and delaying care due to unpaid bills. Nationally, only 29% of patients with unaffordable hospital bills are able to learn about, apply for, and receive financial assistance.

To help close this gap, the Los Angeles County Medical Debt Coalition has developed new model documents for hospitals, which will increase awareness and make programs easier to access for patients. The model documents include a simplified application, a clear policy, and a plain language summary. With this effort, Los Angeles County joins a small number of jurisdictions that have modernized financial assistance materials to improve consistency across hospitals.

Details: publichealth.lacounty.gov/PreventMedicalDebt