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Augusta Health has partnered with health care technology company Breez Health to streamline its financial assistance program for income-eligible patients. With a new, easy-to-use online application process, Augusta Health patients can quickly determine if they are eligible for discounts or free care.
“Ensuring that every member of our community can access care, regardless of their financial capabilities, is essential to our mission,” explained Katie Adams, Augusta Health administrative director of revenue cycle. “With a community-focused and accessible financial assistance program, we aim to take the financial burden and worry away in affording quality health care, paving the way for better health within our communities.”
Patients can now see if they qualify and apply for financial assistance at Augusta Health by visiting the financial assistance portal.
Patients with no more than $15,000 in liquid assets and income up to 200% of the federal poverty line — which equals an annual income of $60,000 for a family of four — may qualify for free care, and patients with an income up to 400% of the federal poverty line may qualify for care discounted up to 60%.
“Medical debt can severely impact lives, communities, and a willingness to seek care,” says Adams. “This online tool is geared towards protecting patients from the hardship of medical debt, which is the leading cause of bankruptcy in the U.S.”
Breez Health is a technology and consulting company that simplifies patient-facing and internal financial assistance, or “charity care” processes, providing another way hospitals can reach out to vulnerable members of their communities.
Breez Health is part of Goodroot, a community of companies reinventing health care one system at a time, according to a spokesman.
