Two in three patients can't pay off their hospital bills

[Auburn85 425]

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/26/two-in-three-patients-cant-pay-off-their-hospital-bills.html

 

 

Quote

 

Angelica LaVito

 

More than two-thirds of patients aren't paying their entire hospital bills, and that number could increase to 95 percent by 2020, according to a study from TransUnion, a company that helps hospitals collect unpaid bills.

Analyzing patient data from across the country, TransUnion found just under half of patients did not pay off hospital bills of $500 or less two years ago. The company attributed the increase to higher deductibles and patient responsibility growing from 10 percent to 30 percent over the last few years.

The Affordable Care Act has given more people access to health care, but it has driven deductibles up, in some cases, making it harder for patients to pay, said John Yount, TransUnion's vice president of product for the health-care division. Hospital margins are already between only 2 and 4 percent on average, Yount said, and that margin quickly narrows when more patients can't pay their bills.

 

"What it means is as a patient takes on more responsibility, then it is likely that that debt, which is a component of uncompensated care, has a potential to increase for hospitals," Yount said. "It's likely that as they provide services and their bad debt increases, it could be difficult to continue certain operations."

Since 2010, 79 rural hospitals have closed, according to the North Carolina Rural Health Research Program. Yount warned that number will continue to increase if more patients can't pay their bills.

Hospitals in states that did not expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act are under more pressure than hospitals in states that did, according to Becker's Hospital Review. The Senate bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act would start phasing out the expansion program in 2021 and fully repeal it three years later.

Regardless of legislation, health-care companies must focus on reducing the cost of services, Yount said. Most hospital bills are $500 or less, TransUnion found, but of those that were more than $3,000, 99 percent were not paid in full.

"We're starting to see trends of evaluative care and the transition of a payment structure form that's outcome-based," Yount said. "There needs to be a continued effort to help drive costs of health care down."

 

 

[homersapien 10,932]

Neither the ACA or the Republican "replacement"  addresses cost of healthcare.  We need to abandon the fee-based system.  Good discussion of that on PBS Newshour tonight:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/conservatives-targeting-wrong-things-bring-health-care-costs-says-hospital-system-ceo/

 

[Mims44 1,639]

The sheer audacity of a lot of hospitals and doctors are rage inducing.

[homersapien 10,932]

2 minutes ago, Mims44 said:

The sheer audacity of a lot of hospitals and doctors are rage inducing.

No one has an incentive to reduce costs.

It will take a single payer system to do that.

[AUwent 3,652]

I remember reading through an old thread back in 2004 (hey, I enjoy archiving) about how terrible Canada health care is and how great US health care is.

"This is why the government needs to stick to its constitutional responsibilities and stay out of the best, most innovative health care system in the world." 

BTW, it's amazing how much more moderate this forum has gotten since then.

[TexasTiger 11,611]

19 minutes ago, AUwent said:

I remember reading through an old thread back in 2004 (hey, I enjoy archiving) about how terrible Canada health care is and how great US health care is.

"This is why the government needs to stick to its constitutional responsibilities and stay out of the best, most innovative health care system in the world." 

BTW, it's amazing how much more moderate this forum has gotten since then.

Facts have a way of catching up with MOST people.

[I_M4_AU 7,002]

6 hours ago, TexasTiger said:

Facts have a way of catching up with MOST people.

Tex, I've been meaning to ask (and don't get upset, I mean nothing sinister about the question), but your sig is a quote from a poster that you banned from this particular forum.  Is that a warning to the rest of us to stay in line, or did you just forget to change it?

[TexasTiger 11,611]

5 hours ago, I_M4_AU said:

Tex, I've been meaning to ask (and don't get upset, I mean nothing sinister about the question), but your sig is a quote from a poster that you banned from this particular forum.  Is that a warning to the rest of us to stay in line, or did you just forget to change it?

I almost always post on my phone and never see it. Thanks for the reminder.

[homersapien 10,932]

12 hours ago, AUwent said:

I remember reading through an old thread back in 2004 (hey, I enjoy archiving) about how terrible Canada health care is and how great US health care is.

"This is why the government needs to stick to its constitutional responsibilities and stay out of the best, most innovative health care system in the world." 

BTW, it's amazing how much more moderate this forum has gotten since then.

The ACA changed the basis of discussion on healthcare. It is becoming to be considered a right.

The effort by the GOP to repeal it will not reverse that change, it will accelerate it.

[homersapien 10,932]

1 hour ago, TexasTiger said:

I almost always post on my phone and never see it. Thanks for the reminder.

It would be a shame to forget such "classic" posts.  

[Strychnine 1,799]

On 7/4/2017 at 4:19 AM, I_M4_AU said:

Tex, I've been meaning to ask (and don't get upset, I mean nothing sinister about the question), but your sig is a quote from a poster that you banned from this particular forum.  Is that a warning to the rest of us to stay in line, or did you just forget to change it?

 

It was actually Titan that ultimately led to his banning, once he finally came to terms with the fact that the aforementioned poster contributed absolutely nothing to any thread he posted in.  He was the ultimate embodiment of all that is wrong with much of the discourse here and in the rest of the country.

[I_M4_AU 7,002]

4 hours ago, Strychnine said:

 

It was actually Titan that ultimately led to his banning, once he finally came to terms with the fact that the aforementioned poster contributed absolutely nothing to any thread he posted in.  He was the ultimate embodiment of all that is wrong with much of the discourse here and in the rest of the country.

OK, thanks for the information.