SYRACUSE, NY — A public forum on medical debt issues and hospital financial assistance programs will be held Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Beauchamp Branch Library, 2111 S. Salina St., Syracuse.
The event is organized by the Coalition to End Medical Debt, made up of Syracuse United Neighbors, the Community Service Society and Citizen Action of New York.
At the forum, patients will discuss their experiences with medical debt and applying for hospital finance.
According to the Community Service Society, more than 53,000 New Yorkers were sued for unpaid medical bills between 2015 and 2020, including at least 4,000 during the peak of the pandemic.
New York City hospitals receive $1.1 billion annually from the state to offset the cost of providing unpaid care. In return, hospitals must have financial assistance programs for patients.
The Community Service Society says some hospitals are failing to educate patients about their financial assistance programs.
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