How 2 Rural Hospitals Use Charities to Help Patients With Out-Of-Pocket Costs

Wayne Memorial and Ballad Health are using financial aid to help alleviate medical bills for their rural populations and reduce bad debt. Outside financial aid might not be the best long-term solution to the national problem of high healthcare costs and inadequate insurance coverage, but two rural hospitals are taking innovative approaches to tapping philanthropic resources to reduce their bad debt and help patients with medical bills.

The American Hospital Association's latest Annual Survey of Hospitals showed that hospitals provided $41.6 billion in uncompensated care in 2019. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the latest numbers are even higher, with a Kauffman Hall report showing that 47% of revenue cycles saw increases in bad debt and uncompensated care in 2020. Here's how Wayne Memorial and Ballad Health are using financial aid to help alleviate medical bills for their rural populations and reduce bad debt.