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As a matter of fact, most patients don't pay their medical bills, hospitals only collect about 20% of Patient A/R. The reason the ER facilities charge is so hi
by creaghpatr 9y ago
As a matter of fact, most patients don't pay their medical bills, hospitals only collect about 20% of Patient A/R.
The reason the ER facilities charge is so high is that people abuse the ER and threaten the lives of people who actually need saving. The ER can't legally turn people away and asking them to pay a bill is pretty fruitless, especially for underbanked Americans. Meanwhile, the hospitals jack up the charges to offset the losses on the aforementioned patients.
Taxpayers subsidize these losses in addition to paying for health insurance.
- Cacti 9y agoI think you massively overestimate the costs of ER care for the uninsured that do not pay their bills. Charity costs are around 2.3% of operating expenses for your average non-profit hospital. 2.3% loss is not how you end up with bills that are 6, 10, or 15 times inflated. Poor people in the ER isn't what is driving health care or hospital costs.