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My experience is the opposite. The uninsured receive absurd bills because the hospital doesn't actually expect them to pay. The sell the debt to collections a
by firebird84 9y ago
My experience is the opposite. The uninsured receive absurd bills because the hospital doesn't actually expect them to pay. The sell the debt to collections and get a big tax writeoff with little relation to reality.
- mfoy_ 9y agoWow, I hadn't even thought of that. The one anecdote I know of was the opposite, but I guess that's because it was clear that the uninsured patient could and would pay a reasonable bill... so presumably they can either get a small bill paid, or a huge bill sent to collections and write-off some tax... ugh, no wonder they need such huge finance departments...
- maxxxxx 9y agoYou are probably right but this invites and rewards unethical behavior. If you pay the bill you are a sucker. You have to be a deadbeat.
- Broken_Hippo 9y agoThis has been my experience as well. My understanding was that they technically bill the uninsured the same basic amount they bill the insurances, prior to them applying the "insurance discounts". I've often thought this could be solved by legislation (something like the uninsured cannot pay more than the lowest insurance + copay amount), but lots of folks are against such price controls.