Filed Under: [ Health ] [ Press Releases ] [ Your Money ]
Tags: hospital
Knowledge is Power!
K.B. Forbes, a leading national healthcare advocate and Executive Director of the Consejo de Latinos Unidos, a public charity that assists and educates Latinos and others, announced today the launch of a new, free nationwide assistance program in Spanish for Latinos with high hospital bills.
The key aspect of the program is to negotiate lower hospital bills for patients in debt and qualify them for any available discounts or charity care. The services are free. The program is fully funded and run by the Fairness Foundation, a public charity based in Indianapolis, Indiana.
“Many Latinos have no idea they are being price gouged by a hospital,” said Forbes. “Now there is a free program in Spanish to help negotiate reasonable balances and payment plans. The anxiety so many victims of hospital price gouging face is being replaced with real concern, real help, real discounts, and real solutions for these patients.”
According to the Fairness Foundation, patients who have utilized their free services have received significant discounts — in some cases 90 percent off the original balances. In one cited case, a hospital patient ended up paying $6,300 on a hospital bill that was originally over $66,000 due to the successful efforts of the Fairness Foundation.
Spanish speaking patients in debt with a hospital are encouraged to register on the Internet at www.ayudagratis.net or call 1-800-742-3441.
Last November, Forbes was named by Health Leaders magazine as one of the top 20 people making a difference in making healthcare better in the United States.
Forbes is the author of nine investigative reports, including six on hospital price gouging and aggressive collection practices. The investigative reports and efforts by Forbes and the Consejo provoked several U.S. congressional probes into hospital price gouging abuses by the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee and the U.S. Senate Finance Committee. “
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