Explanation
This ordinance authorizes the Director of the Department of Finance and Management to enter into a not-for-profit service contract with the Central Ohio Hospital Council to cover the administrative costs related to the identification and notification of the forgiveness of medical debt for qualifying Columbus residents.
The Central Ohio Hospital Council a 501(c)(3) organization that facilitates collaboration between area hospitals and community stakeholders to improve the quality, value, equity, and accessibility of health care in the region. Its four members include Mount Carmel Health System, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, and OhioHealth.
Columbus City Council has worked with the Central Ohio Hospital Council and its members to coordinate a large-scale debt forgiveness for Columbus residents who earn less than 400% of the federal poverty level. Under the hospitals’ existing policies, those earning less than 200% of the federal poverty level already fall under charity care and do not hold medical debt from these hospitals. Debt forgiveness is targeted at those who received care from 2015 through 2020.
Central Ohio Hospital Council expects that 340,660 Columbus residents will receive debt forgiveness, with the average recipient receiving forgiveness in the amount of $984. The total amount of debt forgiven across the four hospitals is expected to be $335,213,212.00. In partnership with its members, the Central Ohio Hospital Council will work with a third party to validate patient data in order to mail notification letters of the debt forgiveness. Individuals will not need to take any further action.
This contract will support the validation of patients’ income and address data and mailing costs of notification letters. The hospitals are supplying the staff and time to execute this data collection and notification process. Coordination of data collection and the notification process from the various p...
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