We didn’t stop there. In 2019, we started going court by court across the commonwealth to release any financial judgments against poor patients. Some of these liens had been in place for 20 years. Today, we successfully have canceled nearly 80,000 past judgments.
Why did we do this? Because it was the right thing to do. A health crisis should not lead to a financial crisis that follows patients for years.
As a result of these actions, VCU Health System has been noted as a leader in bringing financial security and affordability to those whom we serve.
In a 2020 article that appeared in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Kaiser Health News quoted a Georgia State University law professor who is an expert in hospital billing as saying that VCU Health’s changes will “… relieve patients of an incredible financial and emotional burden.”
In addition to these actions, earlier this year, VCU Health System launched an online price transparency self-estimator tool for patients to supplement our already established hotline at: (804) 828-0966
These allow patients to get a personalized estimate of their likely out-of-pocket cost for a needed health care service, based on their insurance coverage. We also provide estimates to uninsured patients of their options for financial assistance.
At VCU Health System, a nonprofit health system established by and for the commonwealth of Virginia, our mission is to serve patients, their families and Virginia’s communities — not to make a profit and generate a return on investment for shareholders. We must generate enough revenue from public, private and philanthropic sources to sustain our system, but we do not and will not exploit patients.
