114.6. Mass. Code Regs. 10.06. - Patient Rights and Responsibilities

“Patient Rights and Responsibilities”
 
Hospitals and Community Health Centers must advise patients of their rights to: apply for Free Care upon determining the patient's financial liability, to a payment plan, to a written notice of the eligibility decision within 30 days of completion of a written Free Care application, and their right to file a grievance of an eligibility or scope of services determination.
The patient also has the following responsibilities: to provide all necessary documentation, to inform the provider of changes in family income and insurance status, and to track the patient deductible and provide documentation to the hospital that the deductible has been reached.
A hospital or community health center must not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, citizenship, alienage, religion, creed, sex, sexual preference, age, or disability, in its policies, or in its application of policies, concerning the acquisition and verification of financial information, pre-admission or pretreatment deposits, payment plans, deferred or rejected admissions, or eligibility for Free Care. In addition, a hospital or community health center cannot seek legal execution against the personal residence or motor vehicle of a patient or Guarantor without the express approval of the hospital or community health center’s board of trustees. All approvals by the Board must be made on an individual case basis.