Allina Health System in Minnesota Cuts Off Patients With Medical Debt - The New York Times - 0 views
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An estimated 100 million Americans have medical debts. Their bills make up about half of all outstanding debt in the country.
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About 20 percent of hospitals nationwide have debt-collection policies that allow them to cancel care, according to an investigation last year by KFF Health News. Many of those are nonprofits. The government does not track how often hospitals withhold care
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Under federal law, hospitals are required to treat everyone who comes to the emergency room, regardless of their ability to pay. But the law — called the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act — is silent on how health systems should treat patients who need other kinds of lifesaving care, like those with aggressive cancers or diabetes.
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