Business of Health

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper says nearly 100 hospitals have agreed to participate in a first-of-its-kind initiative that could help low- and middle-income patients get rid of billions of dollars in debt. These hospitals will get even higher Medicaid payments if medical debt on their books get cleared and they carry out ways for future patients to avoid liabilities.

A decision to halt seeking medical payments was praised by critics who have long said it’s not right for a publicly chartered, multibillion-dollar, nonprofit hospital to take patients to court for medical costs that are often out of their control.

Community hospitals play an important role. Think, for example, of where your children were born. You probably have a good association with that…