Hilltop Assists HSCRC in Their Review of Hospital Debt Collection Practices

The Hilltop Institute and its subcontractor, Verité Healthcare Consulting, LLC, synthesized and analyzed the financial assistance and credit and collection policies of all 47 of Maryland’s hospitals to assist the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission (HSCRC) in their response to Governor O’Malley’s request that the HSCRC perform a thorough review of hospital debt collection practices. The purpose of the analysis was to determine: if a general consensus exists among Maryland’s hospitals on various key aspects of the policies; if the financial assistance policies comply with the voluntary guidelines established by the Maryland Hospital Association (MHA) as a minimum expectation for hospitals; and if such policies in Maryland are in accord with national trends and perspectives. Hilltop’s findings were incorporated in the HSCRC report, which was released on February 13, 2009.

April 1, 2009