Rochelle, IL — Rochelle Community Hospital has partnered with healthcare technology company Breez Health to streamline its financial assistance program for income-eligible patients. With a new, simplified online application process, Rochelle Community Hospital patients can easily determine if they are eligible for discounts or free care.
“At Rochelle Community Hospital, our mission thrives on healthcare inclusivity, regardless of one’s ability to pay,” expresses Karen Tracy, CEO. “With an accessible and intuitive financial assistance program, we’re looking to break down financial barriers to care, fostering a healthier and thriving community in the process.”
Patients can now see if they qualify and apply for financial assistance at Rochelle Community Hospital by visiting the financial assistance portal.
Patients with an income up to 200% of the local poverty line — which equates to an annual income of $60,000 for a family of four — may qualify for free care and patients with an income up to 300% of the local poverty line or $90,000 annually for a family of four may qualify for discounted care up to 75%.
“People with medical debt often avoid seeking care and become sicker,” says Tracy. “Rochelle is committed to making sure that doesn’t happen in our community. Our digital and streamlined financial assistance program is designed to make getting financial help for care simple.”
Breez Health is a technology and consulting company that simplifies patient-facing and internal financial assistance, or “charity care” processes, empowering hospitals to drive affordability of care to vulnerable members of their communities.
At Rochelle Community Hospital, care goes beyond helping people heal,” says Breez CEO Nick McLaughlin. “By making financial assistance easy for patients—they’re raising the bar for healthcare accessibility—and the patient financial experience.”
The Affordable Care Act mandates that nonprofit hospitals offer income-based financial assistance programs, but does not specify eligibility criteria or an application process for these programs. Breez brings these “charity care” programs online and simplifies the process to improve patient access and decrease administrative burden.
“Most people don’t realize how high their household income can be without disqualifying them from financial assistance at their local nonprofit hospital,” says McLaughlin. “Eligibility for these programs extends well into the middle class.”
Breez is part of Goodroot, a community of companies reinventing healthcare one system at a time. Dedicated to increasing access and affordability of care, Breez supports hospitals and health systems across the U.S.
About Rochelle Community Hospital
Rochelle Community Hospital is a critical access hospital providing emergency care, imaging, rehabilitation, and many other outpatient services. Its mission is to improve the health of its community through high-quality care with competence, excellence, and compassion on a daily basis.
About Breez Health
Breez Health’s mission is to make financial assistance easy and accessible at every nonprofit hospital in America. With deep industry knowledge, Breez acts as a strategic advisor to hospitals, helping them design and implement better financial assistance programs and providing consulting, technology and support services to ensure ongoing success for both patients and hospitals. www.BreezHealth.com
