A recent study highlights that approximately 9% of Missouri residents grapple with considerable unpaid medical bills. This finding comes from research examining medical debt across states between 2019 and 2021.
Nonprofit hospitals, including prominent institutions like Barnes-Jewish Hospital and SSM Health St. Louis University Hospital, are legally obligated too offer a certain level of charity care and community benefits to maintain thier tax-exempt status. Though, the extent to which physician groups associated with these hospitals are held to similar standards remains unclear.
Experts note that the regulations surrounding community benefit requirements are ofen vaguely defined and can differ considerably between hospitals and states. Research specifically addressing the role of physician groups in medical debt is scarce, partly due to the difficulty in accessing and analyzing the necessary data, which often lies outside the typical sources used by healthcare researchers.
In response to the study, two oncologists, Justin Barnes and S.M. Qasim Hussaini, who work at Washington University’s medical school, penned a supportive commentary. They observed an increase in medical debt lawsuits and pointed out that individuals in lower-income areas frequently enough have fewer resources and less access to health and legal literacy.
Barnes and Hussaini advocate for shared obligation in addressing medical debt, suggesting that hospital systems, along with state and federal governments, should play a greater role in regulating aggressive debt collection practices and enhancing patient protections. They propose that hospitals implement standardized financial assistance programs and place limitations on actions like wage garnishments and liens until all other avenues for financial aid have been explored.
