4 ms·

Most people don't/can't pay their hospital bills.

• vkou 8y ago
  Most? Like, over 50%? If this is true, the system is completely broken. If it's not true, then the system is completely broken, but in a different way.
  • null000 8y ago
    But yeah, I assume it's a combination of: * Most people pay through their insurance, so they don't have to pay the sticker price or anything resembling it * Some people going on payment plans and getting stuck in debt basically forever * Some people bargaining their bill down, paying pennies on the dollar * Some people going into collection, paying pennies on the dollar Of course, it's absurd that all 3 out of 4 paths require you to take extra, often really painful steps (collection + bankruptcy, maintaining insurance, or long drawn-out negotiation) just to pay a reasonable price for something that is 100% non-optional and most countries provide for much-closer-to-free. But that's kinda what happens when the system is broken
  • eli 8y ago
    Depends how you measure, but I feel pretty confident saying that most US hospital bills have never been fully paid off.
• mcv 8y ago
  So prices are excessive because too many people don't pay their bills, leading more people to be unable to pay their bills, leading to even higher prices.
  • LeftTurnSignal 8y ago
    That is what we continue to be told, yes. So my 15 minutes $600 allergy appointment that insurance refused to cover (after covering the same damn appointments for 12 years) is that high because of others, or so I keep hearing...