More July HAN notes: helpful reminders about the HSN

Important things to remember about the Health Safety Net:

• HSN patients have only to incur charges equal to their full deductible before the HSN takes over covering the bills for medical services. This means that it is possible for the patient and the provider to reach an agreement that the hospital will record the money the patient owes for the deductible, but not actually hold the patient accountable for these bills. However, to avoid bad credit, it is important to clarify whether the provider intends to forgive these patients' bills or not.
• When patients are re-determined for the HSN, if they are are found eligible for another program – such as MassHealth or Commonwealth Care – they will be put in that program.
• If a patient doesn’t complete an ERV until after the deadline for return, they should send it to the appropriate MEC.
• Previous bills paid by the patient will count toward medical hardship; forms to apply for medical hardship are available only through the provider.
• Low-income patients (meaning anyone eligible for the HSN: people below 400% of the Federal Poverty Level) should not be billed – except for applicable co-pays or deductibles – during the time they are considered "low-income." This includes debt they may have incurred before becoming low-income. But if their income increases again, they could be billed again for any expenses they incurred while they were not in the "low-income" category.