Medically indigent patients Health Dictionary

Persons who cannot afford needed health care because of insufficient income and/or lack of adequate health insurance.... medically indigent

A treatment or service that is appropriate and consistent with a person’s diagnosis and which, in accordance with locally accepted standards of practice, cannot be omitted without adversely affecting the person’s condition or the quality of care.... medically necessary

A set of rights, privileges, responsibilities and duties under which individuals seek and receive health care services. As patients’ rights are often not explicit, the composition of the set varies from country to country and over time.... patients’ rights

in the USA, very low-income patients who receive health care free or at reduced prices; criteria for eligibility differ from state to state, hospital to hospital, and physician to physician. Providers of charity care may be reimbursed through *Medicaid, *Medicare, or other government programmes. So-called medically indigent patients may also be eligible for help. These are patients who earn too much to qualify for charity care but not enough to afford health insurance, and who may incur medical bills that are far beyond their means. The *Affordable Care Act 2010 was intended largely to help those in this position.... charity patients