"Many hospitals now investigate patient’s personal credit reports to figure out how likely they are to pay their bills. By accessing these credit reports, hospitals are peering at personal lines of credit, payment histories and debts. They say this helps identify which patients to pursue actively for payment because they can, in fact, afford to pay, which helps to minimize losses. They also claim it allows them to quickly identify which patients are eligible for charity care or assistance programs. If a hospital requests the information, be sure to ask them why and whether it’s absolutely necessary. Also, if a problem arises, make sure you ask how the hospital came by the information. By law, hospitals aren’t allowed to turn away patients in an emergency. And public hospitals (as opposed to private hospitals) are often required to give non-emergency care if it is considered medically necessary."
Guess what? I stopped relaxing and felt my blood pressure begin to rise...
I have often wondered why the hospitals in which my husband was treated were so incredibly aggressive in their debt collection practices when they had received virtually full pay from our insurance company on $1.75 million in claims. Finally, here is the answer! They came after us because we could afford to pay the difference!
- Another punishment imposed on working families who pay their bills and use money responsibly.
- Another example of rewarding poor behavior (irresponsible credit users) and punishing good behavior (responsible credit users).
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