By: dfitzgerald
Executive Summary
It is critical not only that that low-income and underserved individuals have access to emergency and medically necessary care at charitable hospitals, but also that those hospitals work with health departments and other community partners to fully understand the needs of the communities they serve and address structural and other determinants of health. The requirements contained in ACA § 9007 are a much-needed step to ensure that the health needs of low-income and underserved individuals are being met and to encourage covered hospitals to meaningfully engage with community members and organizations to help meet those needs. We appreciate the opportunity to provide comments on the proposed regulations implementing those statutory requirements. Our suggestions are based on our long experience advocating for the health rights of low-income and underserved people and aim to strengthen the proposed regulations to promote accountability, transparency, and collaboration.
