Hospital lingo contains a lot of terms, many of which deserve a full article. Today, we’re going to give a crash course on several important hospital terms, including:

• MRFs

• Common acronyms

• Legal terms

• And more!

So without any more time wasted, let’s get to it!

MRFs

MRF is an acronym standing for “machine readable file.” Related to the hospital price transparency requirements that began in 2021, MRFs are the newest focus of the movement.

Essentially, they are digital information packets. Per legal requirements, they include information on:

• Standard Charges

• Discounted Prices

• Payer-negotiated rates

• In-network provider rates and historical allowed amounts for out-of-networks providers

• Any negotiated rates for prescription drugs

If they do not comply with a CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) template, the hospital is liable to be fined.

Charity Care

In 2010, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act. Applying to non-profit hospitals, Charity Care is a part of this act. About 62% of American hospitals are non-profits, which means you most likely visited a hospital with a Charity Care program; in fact, even for-profit hospitals have similar charity programs.

In short, Charity Care forces hospitals to waive or reduce your bills based on your income range (but hospitals dodge this by not telling you if you qualify for aid!), which can significantly reduce hospitals bills or even negate them altogether.

The thought process behind Charity Care argues that because non-profit hospitals receive huge tax cuts, they ought to give back to their community. The chosen form of giving back is Charity Care.

You may wonder whether or not you can receive a refund if you qualify, but you’ve already paid. The answer is yes! Under Section 501(c)(3) and Section 501(r), Charity Care can mean the hospital gives full refunds, even after you’ve paid. If hospitals give you trouble, Fairdoc is here to defend you. We fight. You heal.

Rules and Laws

It can be confusing, hearing about dozens of different laws and rules and sections, not knowing what the differences are. Here’s everything explained in 43 words:

• A Rule springs from laws, goes through a phase as an Interim Rule, then becomes a Final Rule, monitored by administrative agencies within the federal government

• Laws are legislation that Congress passes and the president signs

• Sections are specific portions of the law

There are countless rules and laws, but here we’re going to provide you with a few examples. The Hospital Rule is, unsurprisingly, a rule; so is Transparency in Coverage. Two laws are the Consolidated Association Act and the No Surprises Act.

Common Acronyms

Like with laws and rules, numerous acronyms fly around the world of hospital lingo, and they can feel overwhelming. We’re here to help you out.

• AEOB: Advanced Explanation of Benefits

• AMA: American Medical Association

• COB: Coordination of Benefits

• CMS: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

• CPT: Current Procedural Terminology

• DRG: Diagnosis Related Groups

• EMR/EHR: Electronic Medical/Health Records

• EOB: Explanation of Benefits

• GFE: Good Faith Estimate

• HIPAA: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

• ICD: Internal Classification of Diseases

• MRF: Machine-readable File

• NoSA: No Surprises Act

• TiC: Transparency in Coverage

Conclusion

Now you’re passably familiar with MRFs, Charity Care, common acronyms, and more! We hope you found this article informative and useful. To restate the highlights, MRFs are machine-readable files; charity care exists to help reduce or negate hospital bills for people within a certain income range; and laws are legislation, and rules spring therefrom.

We hope this article answered all your hospital lingo questions! At Fairdoc, we are here to inform you, assist you, and answer all your questions. If you have any questions for us, feel free to reach out, and stay tuned for future articles!