37.106.811    CHARITY CARE POLICY

(1) Every specialty hospital must have a charity care policy that is actively implemented. The charity care policy should reflect the organization's mission statement, organizational goals and objectives, and legal and resource constraints.

(2) A specialty hospital devising a charity care policy should clearly identify the difference between charity care and bad debt.

(3) For any specialty hospital that has a For Profit tax status, the facility's charity care policy must be commensurate to the policies which exist for any nonprofit hospital in the service area.

(4) In addition to (1), the charity care policy criteria should include a mixture of the following factors:

(a) individual or family income or net worth;

(b) employment status and earning capacity;

(c) family size;

(d) other financial obligations;

(e) other sources of payment for the services rendered;

(f) type of services provided, whether elective or emergency;

(g) costs to provide services exceeds third-party payments for services; and

(h) in the case of emergency department visits only, failure of the patient to cooperate with billing inquiries when the patient lives in a zip code known to have a per capita income below the federal poverty level.

History: 50-5-103, 50-5-245, MCA; IMP, 50-5-121, 50-5-245, MCA; NEW, 2013 MAR p. 54, Eff. 1/18/13.