HLTH 5603 Module 6 Organizational Policy Example

Course	HLTH 5603 Legal and Ethical Decision Making in Healthcare Administration
Module	Module 6
Paper type	Organizational policy
Length	840 words, about 3 pages plus title and reference pages
Format	APA 7 student paper
School	American College of Education
Program	MHA
Updated	October 2026

Free sample paper for HLTH 5603 Module 6

Policy RC-114: Patient Financial Assistance Screening and Limits on Collection Actions

Student Name

American College of Education

HLTH5603: Legal and Ethical Decision Making in Healthcare Administration

Module 6 Assignment

Instructor Name

February 14, 2028

What this page is doingThe title follows the naming convention of an actual hospital policy, a number and a descriptive name, which signals that the paper is the policy itself rather than a paper about one. The hospital is a composite. The APA 7 title page carries the course line and module assignment as listed.

Purpose and Scope

Purpose. This policy establishes how the hospital determines whether a patient with an unpaid balance is eligible for financial assistance before any collection action, and it limits the collection actions the hospital and its agents may take. It carries out the hospital's mission to serve all members of its community and its obligations as a tax-exempt organization under the federal tax rules for nonprofit hospitals, which require a financial assistance policy and reasonable efforts to determine eligibility before extraordinary collection actions (Internal Revenue Service [IRS], 2024).

Scope. The policy applies to all patient accounts for services provided at the hospital and its owned clinics, to all hospital employees involved in billing, financial counseling and collections, and to every outside collection agency and law firm acting for the hospital. The hospital, its departments and the roles named here are composites written for this assignment.

What this page is doingThe purpose ties the policy to both the mission and the federal requirement, and the scope explicitly includes outside agents, which is where collection policies often fail in practice.

Definitions

Presumptive eligibility screening means an assessment of a patient's likely eligibility for financial assistance using information available to the hospital, including enrollment in public benefit programs, income data from a third-party verification service and prior financial assistance determinations, without requiring the patient to complete an application. Extraordinary collection action has the meaning given in federal regulations and includes filing a lawsuit, placing a lien on a residence, garnishing wages, reporting the debt to a consumer credit agency and selling the debt to another party. Qualifying payment plan means an interest-free plan with monthly payments no greater than 5 percent of the patient's documented monthly household income.

Policy Statements

One: Before any account is referred for extraordinary collection action, the hospital will complete presumptive eligibility screening. Patients who screen eligible will receive financial assistance automatically, and their qualifying balances will be adjusted without an application.

Two: Every patient who does not screen eligible will be offered a qualifying payment plan in writing and by telephone at least twice before any extraordinary collection action.

Three: The hospital will not garnish wages or place liens on a patient's primary residence under any circumstances.

Four: The hospital may file a lawsuit only if documented household income is above four times the federal poverty guideline, the patient has declined or defaulted on a qualifying payment plan and the chief financial officer has approved the filing in writing.

Five: The hospital will not sell patient debt, and collection agencies acting for the hospital may not report balances under $500 to consumer credit agencies. Each statement is written so that a new employee, reading it alone, could tell whether a proposed action is allowed.

What this page is doingPolicy statements are numbered, specific and testable, with clear thresholds and approval requirements. The prohibition on garnishment and liens is absolute, reflecting the ethical conclusion of Module 4, while lawsuits are permitted only under narrow, documented conditions.

Ownership and Accountability

The Vice President of Revenue Cycle is the policy owner, responsible for implementing the procedures, training staff and ensuring that outside agencies comply. The Director of Community Benefit is the co-owner for monitoring, responsible for reviewing screening results and reporting to the board. The chief financial officer approves any lawsuit under statement four and keeps a log of approvals. The board's community benefit committee reviews compliance twice a year. Naming two owners from different functions is deliberate: one is accountable for doing the work and the other for checking it.

Monitoring and Consequences

The Director of Community Benefit will report to the community benefit committee every six months the number of accounts screened, the number found presumptively eligible and adjusted, the number of payment plans offered and accepted, the number of lawsuits filed with their approval dates and any instance in which a step was skipped. Medical debt falls unevenly by income, with far higher balances in poorer ZIP codes than in wealthier ones (Kluender et al., 2021), so the report will also show the distribution of collection actions by patient ZIP code income decile.

Consequences for noncompliance are specified. An employee who refers an account for extraordinary collection action without completed screening, or who initiates a prohibited action, will be subject to the hospital's progressive discipline policy, beginning with documented retraining for a first occurrence. Any collection agency or law firm that takes a prohibited action on the hospital's behalf will be notified in writing, required to reverse the action at its own cost and, after a second occurrence, have its contract terminated. Any lawsuit filed without written approval will be withdrawn.

What this page is doingMonitoring specifies who reports what, to whom and how often, including an equity breakdown supported by national evidence. Consequences are graded and apply to both employees and outside agents, which gives the policy teeth where it would otherwise rely on goodwill.

Rationale and Review

The hospital adopted this policy after declining a proposal to sue 212 patients whose accounts, on review, included many who were likely eligible for financial assistance. Federal rules permitted the lawsuits; neither the hospital's mission nor the community benefit expected of a tax-exempt hospital supported them. Hospitals elsewhere that sued patients in large numbers found the practice drew public criticism once it was documented (Bruhn et al., 2019), a risk the board weighed alongside the ethical case. The policy makes the screening step automatic rather than dependent on patients completing an application, because the review showed that notices alone did not reach many eligible patients. The policy will be reviewed annually by its owners and the community benefit committee, and any change to statements three through five requires board approval.

References

Bruhn, W. E., Rutkow, L., Wang, P., Tinker, S. E., Fahim, C., Overton, H. N., & Makary, M. A. (2019). Prevalence and characteristics of Virginia hospitals suing patients and garnishing wages for unpaid medical bills. JAMA, 322(7), 691-692. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2019.9144

Internal Revenue Service. (2024). Requirements for 501(c)(3) hospitals under the Affordable Care Act: Section 501(r). U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Kluender, R., Mahoney, N., Wong, F., & Yin, W. (2021). Medical debt in the US, 2009-2020. JAMA, 326(3), 250-256. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2021.8694

The HLTH 5603 Module 6 assignment instructions

HLTH 5603 Module 6 asks you to turn the course's legal and ethical reasoning into an organizational policy. Most prompts expect a policy in standard format: purpose and scope, definitions, policy statements, procedures or responsibilities, an owner, monitoring, consequences for noncompliance and a review date, with a short rationale. Many sections ask that the policy be specific enough to audit. A finished policy here usually runs three to four pages. Canvas states the required headings and whether the rationale must cite legal sources. Some instructors also ask for a short training plan for staff who apply the policy, so plan who will be trained and when.

How this HLTH 5603 Module 6 example is built

The policy opens with its purpose, tying the policy to the mission and to Section 501(r), and a scope that includes outside collection agencies. The definitions section defines financial assistance, extraordinary collection actions and presumptive eligibility. The policy statements are numbered and testable: screen every account for assistance before any collection referral, no lawsuit below a set balance, executive approval for any suit, and no wage garnishment or liens on primary residences. The ownership section names the vice president of revenue cycle and the committee that reviews exceptions. Monitoring sets quarterly reports to the board, including a breakdown by zip code to catch unequal effects. Consequences cover employees and agents, and a short rationale and review date close it.

Reading the HLTH 5603 Module 6 rubric

Policy assignments are graded on whether the policy could be used. Purpose and scope credit requires links to mission and law and coverage of everyone who acts under the policy. Definition marks reward terms defined precisely. The policy statements row usually carries the most weight: numbered, specific and testable, with thresholds and approvals. Ownership marks go to a named role. Monitoring earns credit when it says who reports what, to whom and how often, with an equity check. Consequences and a review date complete the policy, with APA 7 for the rationale. Graders also look for consequences that apply to outside collection agents, since that is where many hospitals lose control. A review date keeps the policy current.

HLTH 5603 Module 6 help: mistakes that cost points

Policy assignments most often read like essays about why the policy matters. Another frequent weakness is statements too vague to audit, such as staff will treat patients fairly. Students also forget outside agents and consequences. Use standard headings. Number each statement. Set thresholds. Name an owner. Specify reports and frequency. State consequences for employees and contractors. Put the argument in a short rationale. If your policy is on charity care, price estimates or interpreter use, the desk can draft a policy on it. Have legal and finance read the policy before it is final. Keep each statement short.

Write yours, or have the desk draft it

This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official American College of Education document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.

More HLTH 5603 and MHA sample papers

HLTH 5603 Module 6 questions, answered

What does HLTH5603 Module 6 usually ask for?

HLTH5603 Module 6 usually asks students to convert their legal and ethical analysis into an organizational policy with a named owner and consequences for noncompliance. Many sections expect a policy format with purpose, scope, definitions, procedures and review provisions. Your classroom's instructions decide the policy template and length.

Why does a policy need a named owner?

A policy without an owner has no one responsible for implementing it, training staff or noticing when it is not followed. Naming a role, not a person, keeps ownership stable through staff changes. Naming a second role to monitor compliance separates doing the work from checking it.

What should the consequences section of a policy include?

State what happens when the policy is not followed, for employees and for any outside agents, and make the consequences proportionate and graded, for example retraining for a first occurrence and escalating steps after that. Consequences should also include correcting the harm, such as reversing a prohibited action.

Where can I find a free HLTH 5603 Module 6 sample paper?

Read it above at no cost: "Purpose and Scope", "Ownership and Accountability" and "Rationale and Review" make up this HLTH 5603 Module 6 organizational policy.

What is an extraordinary collection action?

Under IRS rules for tax-exempt hospitals, it includes actions such as lawsuits, wage garnishment, liens, selling debt and reporting to credit agencies. Hospitals must take reasonable steps to find eligibility for assistance first.