Dive Brief:

Hospitals’ charity care policies can differ wildly even within the same city, creating discrepancies in care coverage for those with similar financial standings and medical conditions, according to a new report from the Lown Institute.

In one of the more extreme examples, the report found a family of three making $67,000 in Waco, Texas, could be eligible for free care at Ascension Providence, while the same family would have to make $6,000 or less to access free care at Goodall Witcher Hospital.

The differences stem from a lack of federal policy dictating charity care requirements, according to the report. Creating uniform standards for financial assistance, requiring hospitals to screen patients for assistance and regulating hospitals’ use of program restrictions could

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