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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill who wrote (449101)	10/4/2011 2:03:31 PM
From: DMaA	Respond to of 794009

Hospitals write off huge fractions of their billing, Some over 30%. Many of the non-profits have charitable foundations that collect money to pay for some of the non payers.

To: Bill who wrote (449101)	10/4/2011 2:04:40 PM
From: aladin	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 794009

The only ones who walk away from their bills scott free are the indigent and the illegals, both of whom can't afford to pay the hospital or for the mandated insurance. 'Only' - your kidding right? That makes it look small - I have seen some estimates of these uninsured making up 40% or more of the costs at many inner city hospitals. At the same time - I don't mean to appear to justify current Hospital billing practices - the paperwork is insane - but we have armies of personal injury and civil rights lawyers who want to attack administrators who defer (or even appear to defer) any care to the uninsured. There is an image in America that the uninsured are poor or undocumented. That poor and undocumented workers lack insurance is true - but there are a lot of folks who operate without insurance who could afford basic coverage. On the feel good side we mandate 'essential' services, but on the budget side we do not provide or require. Hence my comments on hypocrisy.