We’re taking on medical debt! To capture the full scope of shady practices, we’re surveying Boston area hospital CEOs on their financial assistance policies. Below you’ll find three things: our letter to the CEO, a place for signatures of support, and 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 will not be sharing your email addresses with the hospital CEOs or anyone else.
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],
As concerned members of the community and as advocates for transparent and responsible healthcare, we are writing to you to request information regarding your hospital's approach to debt and collection practices.
We believe that open, public communication is essential for ensuring that healthcare in Massachusetts remains accessible and equitable for all. Accordingly, our group, the Right Care Alliance of Boston, in cooperation with the other undersigned organizations is sending this letter to seek uniform information from all hospitals in the metropolitan Boston area.
Hospitals play a crucial role in providing essential medical services to their community, especially for those who may be financially vulnerable. Yet rising health care prices and total costs are an ongoing problem for the citizens of the Commonwealth, and efforts to address these problems have been inadequate to date. In recent years, our state has had a significant shift toward the use of health insurance plans with high co-pays and deductibles, which merely shifts the burden to patients and their families. We all know that this is an unsustainable situation, but action is wanting. Meanwhile, some patients face unconscionable financial burdens due to their medical bills and the subsequent collection practices that they create. How much of the problem arises from hospital care is not clear to us.
State Senator Lydia Edwards and Representative John J. Mahoney have proposed companion bills which would require providers to more uniformly and transparently report information about the medical debts they claim are owed to them.
But we think such an important issue cries out for greater transparency, and should not have to await the passage of their proposed legislation. Accordingly, we are writing to you today in order to gain a better understanding of your hospital's debt collection and billing practices and to ensure that our community members are well-informed.
To that end, we are requesting that you kindly provide us answers to the questions in the enclosed survey.
We firmly believe that transparency in these matters will enhance community trust and help us collectively work toward solutions that prioritize the well-being of patients while also addressing the fiscal responsibilities of healthcare institutions. We are confident that the insights you provide will contribute to a more informed public discourse and aid in the pursuit of the fair and compassionate healthcare practices we all want to see for our families and communities.
Please feel free to send survey results via email to medicaldebt@rightcarealliance.org. Your cooperation in providing this information is greatly valued and will undoubtedly contribute to improving our community's healthcare landscape.
Thank you for your attention to this matter, and we look forward to receiving your response at your earliest convenience.
Sincerely,
View Signatures After Responding
Your email will be used to share updates on the campaign; we will not be sharing your contact info with the hospital CEOs or anyone else.
