We are taking on medical debt! To capture the full scope of challenges our local patients face we are surveying the Gainesville area hospital CEOs on their financial assistant policies. Below you will find three things.
1. Our letter to local CEOs at UF Shands, North Florida HCA, Lake City HCA,
West Marion HCA, Putnam HCA, Ocala HCA, and Advent Health Ocala
2. A place for you virtually sign by filling out the brief survey
3. A link to the Hospital CEO survey itself.
Your signature and email will be used to share updates on the campaign; we will be making the signatures public when we send the letter, but we will not be sharing your email address with anyone outside the RCA.
Thank you for your support, and please email any questions you might have to info@rightcarealliance.org
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Dear [CEO's Name],
We are writing you as the Gainesville Chapter of the National non-profit organization Right Care Alliance http://rightcarealliance.org. We are dedicated to promoting affordable and accessible healthcare for all and as part of this mission we request your assistance in gathering information regarding medical debt in our community. This information will assist us in better understanding the challenges of both patients and healthcare entities regarding medical debt as well as the approaches that are being used to secure that debt. The problem of medical debt is particularly acute in Florida where the Kaiser Family Foundation-NPR survey found that Florida ranks 2nd among U.S. states for annual medical debt ($8.2 billion)
We understand that hospitals play a crucial role in providing essential medical services to our community, including those who may be financially vulnerable. Rising health care prices and total costs are an ongoing concern for Northern Floridians and many prior efforts to address these issues have been ineffective or inadequate. In our efforts to understand these issues and help formulate assistance plans, we have held forums with our fellow citizens as well as conducted a survey. These outreaches have called our attention to the unconscionable financial burden of medical bills and the subsequent collection practices our residences are now experiencing. We are writing to you today in the hopes of gaining a better understanding of your hospital's debt collection and billing practices. We hope you will collaborate with us in this effort to reduce medical debt.
While state legislatures are formulating legislation to address these issues, these problems are too pressing to wait for state mandates. You are a vital institution in our community, and we are confident that the insights you can provide will enhance community trust and help us collectively to work toward solutions that prioritize the well-being of patients while also addressing the financial needs of healthcare institutions.
With these goals in mind, we kindly request your responses to the questions in the enclosed survey. Please respond to this correspondence via email at medicaldebt@rightcarealliance.org. Your cooperation in providing this information is greatly valued and should contribute to improving our community's healthcare landscape.
We look forward to receiving your response at your earliest convenience. Our goal is to educate our community and better understand the local challenges of medical debt. Could you please complete this survey by February 24, 2024
Thank you,
View Signatures After Responding
Your email will be used to share updates on the campaign; we will not be sharing your contact info outside of the RCA.
