Charlotte leaders urge Atrium to consider new approach on medical debt
A charity works to wipe away medical debt, but Atrium and Novant have said they're not interested
The following article appeared in the Jan. 29, 2024, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.
2 local politicians say Atrium’s board should examine working with a nonprofit that specializes in relieving debts
by Michelle Crouch
The Charlotte Ledger/N.C. Health News
At-large Charlotte City Council member Dimple Ajmera is urging Atrium Health to consider working with RIP Medical Debt, a national nonprofit that buys unpaid medical debt and forgives it.
Ajmera said she reached out to Atrium CEO Gene Woods last month after reading a Charlotte Ledger/N.C. Health News article about the hospital’s refusal to enter into discussions with RIP.
“I asked them to consider this initiative,” she said. “I really hope that they will consider it because this will help relieve a lot of people … from medical debt.”
Mecklenburg County Commissioner Laura Meier told The Ledger/N.C. Health News that she, too, would like Atrium to consider working with RIP.
RIP Medical Debt has an unusual model: It buys large bundles of delinquent medical debt from hospitals at a steep discount, and then sends patients letters forgiving the debt. The program benefits those who earn less than 400% of the federal poverty level or whose debts exceed 5% of their annual income.
Charlotte’s two big hospital systems — Atrium and Novant — have both declined to sell their debt to RIP Medical. They each told The Ledger/N.C. Health News that they already have robust financial assistance programs to serve patients. Atrium also said that the community would be better served by directing one-time funds toward other programs. Other hospitals have worked with RIP and issued news releases touting their collaboration as proof that they are taking “steps to reduce the burden of healthcare costs.”
Ajmera said she also talked to Atrium’s Marcus Kimbrough, who handles government affairs and community engagement in the Charlotte area and asked him to bring the issue before the board of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority, which next meets Feb. 6. The authority is the public entity that does business as Atrium Health. The board appoints its own members, who must be approved by the chair of the Mecklenburg County commission.
Ajmera acknowledged that the Charlotte City Council lacks the power to tell the hospital system what to do, but she said she feels a responsibility to advocate for the issue as a citizen because medical debt affects so many Charlotte residents. About 1 in 5 families in Mecklenburg County have medical debt in collections, according to an Urban Institute analysis.
Meier said she, too, thinks the decision about whether Atrium should work with RIP Medical Debt should be made by the hospital authority board.
“They’re the ones who should make the decision. They should hear all sides,” she said. “They are supposed to be public meetings, but I am not sure why it’s such a headache to bring something like that before the board.”
In response to an email asking if the authority board would discuss the topic at its next meeting, Atrium spokesman Dan Fogleman didn’t answer directly. He replied that working with RIP is not something the hospital intends to pursue, and he reiterated Atrium’s view that its existing policies “offer robust, equitable and long-term support to patients of all income levels” and that money is better spent on other programs.
In response to several requests over the past year, Fogleman has told The Ledger/N.C. Health News that the board’s agendas are not available to the public before the meetings.
Hospital authority board chair Angelique Vincent did not respond to a message from The Ledger/N.C. Health News.
Fogleman requested that The Ledger/N.C. Health News not attempt to contact Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority commissioners, who are public officials, and instead route questions through Atrium’s public relations department. —Michelle Crouch
Related Ledger/N.C. Health News article:
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