All 99 NC hospitals register for medical debt relief program in huge win for patients

A landmark program created to help eliminate medical debt for those struggling to pay their hospital bills in North Carolina now has uniform support from state hospitals.

2024-08-12

On Monday, Gov. Roy Cooper announced that all of the state’s 99 acute care hospitals will participate in an innovative new medical debt forgiveness program for low-and-middle income patients.

"We are excited to announce all of North Carolina's 99 hospitals have signed up to participate in the program," said Gov. Cooper at a news conference.

The initiative is being called the first of its kind with the purpose of easing medical debt for low and middle-income patients in North Carolina. The plan is a joint effort between Cooper and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS).

"This makes sense for the hospitals, their patients and their communities," Cooper said.

Cooper said the move could forgive up to $4 billion for approximately 2 million in North Carolina. Much of that is hospital debt. The program will use the state Medicaid system and federal money to encourage hospitals to waive past debts.

Under the plan, North Carolinians on Medicaid will have any outstanding medical debt dating back to Jan. 1, 2014, forgiven. Hospitals will be reimbursed, leading Cooper to call the program a 'win-win-win for hospitals, patients and the communities."

The plan calls for using healthcare access and stabilization payments to incentivize hospitals to forgive existing medical debt for low-to-moderate-income earners and avoid the creation of debt in the future.

NCDHHS Secretary Kody Kinsley called the policy one of the largest medical debt relief policies in the country.

“This is big, sweeping change that will benefit our health care system and the health and well-being of millions of North Carolinians,” said Secretary Kinsley.

By Jan. 1, 2025, patients who are enrolled in public benefit programs such as WIC and SNAP, enrolled in Medicaid, or who are experiencing homelessness will automatically qualify for charity care. By July 1, 2025, hospitals will forgive past debt of individuals on Medicaid and will also have policies in place to ensure medical debt does not impact a person’s credit rating and to curb aggressive debt collection practices for low-income patients, such as debt sales, excessive interest rates and home foreclosures.