Why Missouri MERCY HEALTH’s billing policies are a denial of patient care loophole:  After fighting with Mercy Health/hospitals, it has come to my attention that they will deny you doctors visits and preventive/diagnostic scans if you owe a bill or have an outstanding balance. Now I owe a bill of $11,000 with no income and trying to get disability. It’s completely discriminatory to low income and uninsured communities. This means that while I’m having symptoms of something serious and my doctor orders me lab work, I cannot have it done because of money I owe from a hospital stay. Nor can I see my doctor for checkups or prescriptions because they are an affiliate with mercy. Which means I need to switch doctors or call people out on their crap. Sure, they won’t deny you on an emergent basis, but if you take daily medications and owe a bill, good luck. Not only is their policy unethical, it’s also unfair. Especially unfair for individuals like me who are low-income and cannot work due to open disability claim. While talking to a Customer Service Rep. for Mercy on Jan. 18th, 2022, I was informed that while some mercy hospitals enforce this policy others in the state do not. More specifically, she (customer rep.) stated that while Carthage and Joplin MO Mercy Hopsitals follow one policy, Mercy hospitals in larger communities in the state do not. How is it fair that because I live in Joplin metro and not St. Louis that I now cannot get care. I’m proposing that every Mercy hospital follow the same policy. And how much money a person has stops determining whether their health matters or not. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. It’s taking me 3yrs to get my chronic condition diagnosed. So much for saving lives. The longer I go without a doctor and hospital I can trust, the longer my health is compromised.