S.7625 Summary

• Requires general hospitals to use a uniform financial assistance policy and form provided by the commissioner, replacing individual hospital policies, effective October 1, 2023.

• Expands financial assistance eligibility to patients with incomes up to 600% of federal poverty level, with assistance scaled by income: nominal payments for those at or below 200%, sliding scale payments for those 200-400%, and Medicare rate payments for those 400-600%.

• Prohibits immigration status as an eligibility criterion and allows patients to use NY State of Health marketplace information in lieu of completing a separate financial application form.

• Eliminates 180-day waiting period for financial assistance applications and requires hospitals to refund overpayments, not send accounts to collections while applications are pending, and not require deposits for medically necessary care.

• Restricts debt collection practices including limiting monthly installment payments to 5% of gross monthly income, prohibiting liens on primary residences, and requiring hospitals to obtain written affidavits and patient notification before commencing legal collection actions; also mandates reporting compliance data to the department including race, ethnicity, and gender demographics.