We Need Single Payer 0
From the Philadephia Inquirer:
But a local hospital group says the fastest-growing part of what hospitals call “bad debt” – basically, uncollectible bills – is money owed by patients who have insurance.
As employers dump costs onto workers, so now are workers dumping costs onto hospitals.
Because of rising deductibles and cost-sharing rules, patients are increasingly faced with bills that would have been unusual for someone with insurance a few years ago.
Read the whole thing. It goes on to point out that
- Hospitals are increasing asking for payment, if not up front, then very quickly. If you are admitted, you might be visited by a “financial counselor” before you get your first lab work back.
- Persons who have been released sometimes pay their cable bills before they pay the hospital bills. (Aside: This is not surprising. They probably have enough money to pay the cable bill. Hospital bills can be more than they will make in a decade or a lifetime.)
- Hospitals don’t much like the current system either.
The larger story is that hospitalization is getting so expensive that only the very very rich can afford it. The whole damn system is not just broke, it’s broken.
Insurance that doesn’t insure, but you can bet your bippy it stills pays the country club memberships of insurance execs.
