As reported last year by KHN, even $3,000 or $4,000 in a 401(k) or other retirement account could bar a patient from financial help. The legislation increases the asset-test threshold to $50,000, not counting a car and a house on less than 4 acres.

Another bill would prohibit the systems from suing or sending bills to collections before they determine whether patients qualify for Medicaid or financial assistance.

“We’re on the right path now,” said Jill Hanken, a health care attorney for the Virginia Poverty Law Center, which was behind the bill. “It was very important to put the brakes on these aggressive collection activities and force these hospitals to look more closely at their indigent care policies.”

Health care finance experts continue to criticize both VCU and UVA for what they charge the uninsured before factoring in any financial assistance.

Last year, UVA increased its discount for the uninsured from 20% off list prices to 40%. VCU increased the discount from 25% to 45%. But at those levels, patients still pay far more than the health systems’ costs and far more than what the systems collect from the Medicare program for seniors.

“Until they reduce the amount they are trying to recover by adjusting their charge to what Medicare would have paid, people who owe debts will still face unreasonable demands,” said Sara Rosenbaum, a health law professor at George Washington University.