The Obama administration has approved new rules to dissuade nonprofit hospitals from aggressively collecting payments from low-income patients, reports The New York Times. 

Under the new rules, hospitals must first offer discounts, free care or other financial assistance to certain patients in need and determine if they are eligible for assistance before referring the case to a debt collector, send negative information to a credit agency, place a lien on a patient’s home, file a lawsuit or seek a court order to seize a patient’s earnings, according to the article.

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