I think you’re viewing the problem backwards. It’s not that they intend to send out a standard bill and know in advance who can pay. It’s that they intend to se

I think you’re viewing the problem backwards. It’s not that they intend to send out a standard bill and know in advance who can pay. It’s that they intend to send out bills scaled to people’s ability to pay. It’s probably more profitable for them to send a small bill to a poor person than a large bill that is never collected. It’s definitely more profitable to throw the most ludicrous bill at those who can and will pay whatever cost is sent at them. You can also adjust the kinds of treatments given according to likelihood of profit. I wouldn’t be surprised if the latter case is illegal (or happening or not). I’m pretty sure the former case is perfectly legal, though symptomatic of a bigger problem.