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ST. LOUIS (AP) — Charity care has long been a core mission of BJC HealthCare, but the St. Louis area's largest employer is cutting back amid increasing financial pressures.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/1eIiCPD ) reports that BJC has changed the "upper level of eligibility" for the charity care it provides. Beginning Jan. 1, BJC reduced the pool of patients eligible for financial assistance to those earning up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level. The previous cap was 400 percent.
Spokeswoman June Fowler says the change also requires uninsured patients to provide, as a minimum, co-pays for medical services.
Fowler says BJC changed its charity care policy "to be supportive of the Affordable Care Act" in part by providing navigators to help people obtain health insurance on the federal marketplace.
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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com
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