Please note that this transcript may include errors.
Dan: Hey there. Those last couple episodes were a lot in a good way. This was by a lot the most intensive reporting we’ve ever done for this show. And there was still so much and so many interviews you didn’t even hear. And I want to super quick share a snippet from just one of them.
It is a piece of practical advice that is worth spreading around and it makes sense that this bit of advice comes from the person who shared what is probably the most Powerful piece of practical advice I’ve ever come across in my reporting for this show.
This is also from a person whose story inspired the whole two year reporting project we just wrapped up. That would be Jared Walker, founder of the nonprofit Dollar Four.
And if you’ve been listening for a long time, you might remember I first talked with Jared almost exactly three years ago after he went super viral on TikTok. He was responding to a prompt.
Prompt: What’s a piece of information that you learned that feels illegal to know?
Dan: His soft spoken answer? Charity care.
Jared Walker: Most hospitals in America are nonprofits, which means they have to have financial assistance or charity care policies.
Dan: More than 10 million people saw that video in its first couple weeks, and Jared has spent the last three years spreading the charity care gospel and making it easier for people to get the financial breaks they deserve.
Reporting that first episode about Jared was also where I first came across a devastating story from our pals at KFF Health News. A reporter named Jordan Rau had pulled IRS filings from thousands of non profit hospitals and found that in a single year. They had chased patients for billions of dollars that under their own policies could have just been forgiven. Some of those hospitals sued patients over unpaid bills.
Following up on those stories is how I ended up spending a lot of the last year trying to chase down why some hospitals chase patients and even sue them for bills that could have been forgiven.
As our reporting makes clear, so many people qualify for charity care who don’t get it. So here’s Jared’s quick bit of advice:
If you or anybody you know is asking someone from a hospital about it: Ask for charity care by name.
Now, the terms “financial assistance” and “charity care” are often used interchangeably, even by the IRS.
But Jared says asking for financial assistance may not get you the same results.
Jared Walker: Because if you say, “I need financial assistance”? That could be a payment plan that could be a care credit card.
Dan: At least that’s how whoever you’re talking to at a hospital might. choose to understand it.
Jared Walker: I mean, “Yeah. we’ve got great financial assistance options. Let me sign up for this credit card.”
Dan: And some hospitals do that kind of verbal sleight of hand, as Jared and dollar for documented in written comments they submitted to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Their comments include screenshots from hospital web pages for financial assistance that Promote payment plans and make it simple to sign up online before describing charity care. Others describe payment plans as a form of financial assistance.
And at some hospitals, the way phone trees are structured, press 1 for this, also makes charity care a lot harder to find.
So, Jared says, ask for charity care by name.
And if it feels weird asking for charity, remember, you’re helping the hospital fulfill their non profit mission.
And you have been helping us fulfill our mission in a really substantial way by supporting this show financially. And I gotta ask you for just a little bit more, and I got a big incentive.
Right now, at the very end of the year, every dollar you give us is double matched. Thanks to a few superstar Arm and a Leg donors. You give us 100, they turn it into 300. It’s like magic. We are close to meeting our big end of the year goal, 25, 000, and maxing out those matching funds. So now is when you can help us grab all those dollars and turn them into practical advice, energizing information, and community.
We got a ton planned for 2024. I have already mapped out more than a dozen episodes I cannot wait to share with you, including updates from Jared, who now runs a team of 18 people. Thank you so much for helping us make this all happen.
You’ll find a link wherever you are listening to this. It is Arm and a Leg show dot com, slash support.
Or you can text arm and a leg, all one word. to 8 0 1 8 0 1. That’s Arm and a Leg to 8 0 1.
Give it a shot. Thank you so much. I’ll catch you soon.
Take care of yourself.
