Minnesota lawmakers introduced new legislation that, if passed, will require hospitals to screen all uninsured patients for charity care eligibility and assist them during the application process, the Post Bulletin reported March 16.
The legislation, co-authored by Rep. Liz Reyer and Sen. Liz Boldon, would also restrict hospitals' ability to send debt to collections and collect patient debt through lawsuits or garnishing wages.
Additionally, it would require Minnesota hospitals to post charity care information on their websites.
A Post Bulletin investigation found that at least 8 percent of Minnesota hospitals did not list charity care information on their websites.