Turning Patient Experiences into Evidence Lawmakers Cite
Summary
A national advocacy organization needed evidence on who was being denied hospital charity care and why. Survey research and in-depth interviews showed how people move through the process of seeking charity care and where they run into barriers. The resulting report was cited in testimony before the U.S. Senate HELP Committee.
The Client
A national advocacy organization working on medical debt and access to care.
The Challenge
Charity care is meant to keep people who can’t afford hospital bills out of medical debt, but access to it varies widely. The organization needed evidence that would hold up with policymakers. That meant understanding who was being denied and why, based on a sample that reflected the people actually affected.
What We Did
We combined a survey with in-depth interviews of people who had sought charity care. Survey results were weighted to match the population carrying medical debt, so the findings spoke for that population and not only for the people easiest to reach. The analysis organized the experience of seeking charity care into a four-stage framework, and the interviews explained what happened to people at each stage.
The Outcome
The report showed where in the process people were losing access to charity care and who was most affected.
Strategic Impact
The organization received a report it could put in front of lawmakers and the press. The research was cited in testimony before the U.S. Senate HELP Committee during its hearing on the medical debt crisis.