Fighting Hospital Debt!Will Pittz, Executive Director,

Washington Community Action Network

Washington CAN has taken on three hospital systems around the state:

-Spokane-Tacoma-Seattle

In all these places – and statewide – people still struggle under hospital debt after implementation of the ACA…

…and hospitals still engage in abusive and predatory practices.

Abusive hospital collection tactics

Abusive hospital collection tactics

Incentives for collection

Our Demands to Stop Hospitals from Driving People into Debt

Model agreement by Washington CAN & Alliance for a Just Society:

1. Sets eligibility levels that protects many people from debt

2. Makes hospital responsible for checking eligibility

3. Bars hospital from using aggressive debt collection tactics

4. Requires one-page application without excess requirements

5. Covers both hospitals and others providing services in hospitals

6. Lets people apply for free or discounted care at any time

7. Requires hospital to talk to patients about free care whenever it communicates about billing, finances, or insurance

Model Agreement Contents, Part 2

1. Makes hospitals refund money and fix bad credit reports

2. Includes an appeals process

3. Requires translation and interpretation

4. Makes hospitals post signs around the hospital

5. Requires staff training and dedicated enrollment counselors

6. Creates a community oversight board

7. Includes data broken down by race, gender, language, and LGBT status

Taking the Fight to Spokane 400 doors knocked on

184 surveys gathered

200 hospital accountability contacts

35 medical debt stories collected

Leadership team developed

2 hospital actions

2 community meetings

2 meetings with executives

Agreement on key issues

Getting the Goods on the Hospital in Tacoma

And Taking the Fight Public

Taking on Swedish Hospital in Seattle

And Raising the Pressure

Key Elements of a Hospital Campaign

Base-building strategies

Background research

Stage one:

• Building public support• Labor-community coalition• Public forums/hearings

Key Elements of a Hospital Campaign, Cont’d

Stage two:

• Push for a meeting with executives

• Escalations that raise public heat and build leverage, such as:

White paper on bad practices Exposing hospitals breaking the law Yard signs Challenging hospital expansion