What resources are available for New Yorkers with medical debt?
A CBS News investigation has found some nonprofit hospitals across the United States are using debt collection tactics against their lowest-income patients.
So how often is that happening in New York, and what resources are out there for people struggling with medical debt?
New York's medical debt laws among best in country, organization says
In 2023, Gov. Kathy Hochul banned hospitals from reporting medical debt to credit agencies, one of several reforms the Community Service Society fought for over the last few years.
"New York state went from having absolutely mediocre medical debt protections to the best in the country," said Elisabeth Benjamin with CSSNY.
Since 2019, Benjamin has been calling out hospitals that sue debt-ridden patients across the state who should've qualified for financial assistance.
"So we went from seeing about 14,000 people being sued a year in 2019, and now we're down to just a couple hundred," she said.
Other states are passing laws on medical debt, too. The CBS News investigation will look into how medical debt is affecting people across the country. The state of Oregon recently passed a law requiring hospitals to screen for whether a patient qualifies for financial assistance before billing them.
Patients don't realize they qualify for financial assistance, experts say
New York requires hospitals notify patients in writing about financial assistance programs, not just on their bill but also during intake, registration and discharge.
But experts say some patients still don't realize they qualify or have trouble finding financial assistance applications.
Undue Medical Debt is a Queens-based charity that wipes away medical debt in bulk after buying it, as debt collectors do, at pennies on the dollar.
"So Undue really functions as a safety net," said employee Ruth Lande. "And health care providers are really eager to work with us because they know that there may be people who just didn't engage."
In New York state, to qualify for financial assistance, one must be uninsured or underinsured and make less than four times the federal poverty level – about $62,000 for a single person and $128,000 for a family of four.
People making less than double the federal poverty level, which is $31,300 for a single person, may qualify for free care.
