Medical debt is crushing hospital patients in LA. Health officials may have a fix
Los Angeles County health officials are implementing a new system to help hospitals screen low-income patients for financial aid to prevent medical debt. The initiative aims to address the cycle of poverty and poor health outcomes caused by unmanageable healthcare bills.
Why it matters
Medical debt is a major driver of financial instability for millions of Americans, and this proactive policy approach could serve as a model for other regions.
LOS ANGELES — Every Tuesday, Naman Shah sees tuberculosis patients at a small public clinic in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley. Shah, a physician and epidemiologist at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, pores over images of battered lungs, listens to labored breathing and checks medications.
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It's part of an initiative dating to the early 20th century to control infections so tuberculosis doesn't spread. "We like doing things upstream," Shah said, "meaning before they happen, not after the damage is done."
Today, Shah and his colleagues are applying the same principle to medical debt. A key part of that effort is a new system to allow every hospital in LA County to easily screen patients for financial aid. The goal: to stop low-income families from getting a bill that buries them in debt.
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