General News
Cape Fear Valley Health’s three hospitals, including its medical center in Cumberland County, are among the 99 hospitals across North Carolina participating in the state’s new medical debt relief plan.
Under the plan, Cape Fear Valley Health will relieve the medical debt of Medicaid recipients, those with incomes at least at or below 350% of the Federal Poverty Level and/or whose medical debt is more than 5% of their income. Any medical debt dating back to Jan. 1, 2014, will be forgiven for Medicaid recipients. All others who are eligible will have any medical debt over two years old, but no older than Jan. 1, 2014, forgiven.
Cape Fear Valley Health’s hospitals will also need to, according to the plan:
- Provide 50-100% discounts on medical bills for those with incomes at or below 300% of the Federal Poverty Level
- Automatically enroll qualifying patients in charity care, a program in every hospital that offers free or discounted services, rather than the application Cape Fear Valley Health required before
- Not sell debt from patients with incomes at or below 300% of the Federal Poverty Level to debt collectors
- Not report any medical debt from patients qualifying for the program to a credit reporting agency
- Cap all interest rates on medical debt at 3%
The state is working with Undue Medical Debt to execute the program. Undue Medical Debt, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit, will help Cape Fear Valley Health’s hospitals and others participating in the program identify what patients’ medical debt is eligible for relief.
“We’re really excited to do this partnership, and we’re happy for the residents of North Carolina that their state is taking such a proactive approach to addressing the issue of medical debt because it really does affect so many people,” Allison Sesso, the CEO and president of Undue Medical Debt, told CityView.
Thirteen percent of Cumberland County residents face unpaid medical-related debts, according to data on medical debt from non-profit data research organization The Urban Institute.
In exchange for participating in the medical debt relief program, Cape Fear Valley Health’s hospitals will receive higher Medicaid reimbursement payments. The funds for those payments come from the Healthcare Access and Stabilization Program, a federally funded program that provides increased reimbursements to hospitals caring for Medicaid patients.
By July 1, 2025, Medicaid patients should see debt relief begin. Other program benefits, like charity care auto-enrollment and discounts on care, should kick in by Jan. 1, 2025.
You can learn more about the state’s medical debt relief program on N.C. Dept. of Health and Human Services’ website.
Residents who are not qualified for the plan but are still looking for medical cost-reducing resources can turn to local organizations like BetterHealth and the CARE Clinic.
CityView Reporter Morgan Casey is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Morgan’s reporting focuses on health care issues in and around Cumberland County and can be supported through the CityView News Fund.
