Posted on 11/01/2025 7:04:00 PM PDT by EBH
CLEVELAND, Ohio — In an effort to stem its ballooning charity care costs, MetroHealth on Thursday launched a new financial assistance policy that eliminates 100% free charity care for some uninsured and underinsured Cuyahoga County residents, the health system said Thursday.
MetroHealth is also encouraging such patients to enroll in health insurance during fall open enrollment periods.
Under MetroHealth’s new financial assistance policy, now called its Healthcare Access and Assistance Plan, patients get higher discounts on their medical bills if they also seek counseling from MetroHealth’s financial counselors.
Hardest hit by the changes are Cuyahoga County residents earning between 251% and 300% of the federal poverty level — or $80,000 to $96,000 for a four-person household. People in this category will no longer get fully free care, instead getting a 75% discount as long as they attend financial counseling.
Cuyahoga County residents earning between 251% and 300% of the federal poverty level — or $80,000 to $96,000 for a four-person household— and who speak with the financial team, will receive a 75% discount on their medical bill. Previously, they had all of their MetroHealth bill covered for free.
Cuyahoga County residents earning between 301% and 400% of the federal poverty level — or $96,000 to $128,000 for a four-person household — and who speak with financial counselors, get a 70% discount on their bill. Previously, they received a 75% reduction of their bills.
Discounts are for both the uninsured and the underinsured, the health system said. The financial team can also help with out-of-pocket costs such as deductibles and coinsurance
(Excerpt) Read more at cleveland.com ...
When the median family sits inside the “assistance needed” band, that’s not a loophole — that’s the new normal. And the ACA subsidies were designed exactly for that middle zone: people who earn “too much” for Medicaid but still can’t afford a $1,200 monthly premium with a $9,000 deductible.
Based on 2023 U.S. Census American Community Survey (ACS) data for Cuyahoga County, Ohio, here’s the rough estimate:
Median household income: ≈ $62,800
Households earning ≤ $80,000: about 63–65 percent of all households
Households earning ≤ $100,000: about 75–78 percent
So yes — nearly two-thirds of county residents fall under MetroHealth’s “full free care” threshold for a family of four (≤ 250 % FPL).
That means that, facetiously but not far off, the hospital’s “charity care” definition now encompasses a majority of the county’s working and middle-class families. It’s less a safety-net policy and more a mass affordability program by necessity—a sign of how distorted health-care costs have become relative to local wages.
The fact that a $96,000 household qualifies for charity-care discussions or that two-thirds of Cuyahoga County falls below a “free care” line
“You bettah thank a democrat!” [An almost Heelsup Harris quote]
Its absurd. I just looked up BCBS coverage for a single male here and it was, at best, from a quick perusal, $825/mo and a $2800 deduct for a bronze level plan.
The point is it is doable. We need to lower standards for handouts, not do more of them. Healthcare is a cost like any other bill. Get right with yourselves and do it.
Why would they buy health insurance when you are giving it away?
How could this be? Obamacare was meant to give everyone “affordable” care. Were we lied to?
what bugs me even more is the fact that the one’s PAYING for insurance or above said ‘free care line’ and the ones they are going to require financial counseling for?
That is one way to look at it.
But on the other side of that coin is ...why is it so expensive that most of the county cannot or claims they cannot afford it.
The cost of care was always the problem, not that some people didn’t have insurance or were under-insured.
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