Medical insurers are toying with a program that would let patients on their plans charge medical expenses that are not covered by insurance, such as co-payments and deductibles, or even medical services that are not covered. If patients cannot pay, the insurer will pay the bill, and then the patient will owe the insurer (with interest). Proponents are touting the program as working like a credit card and designed to “boost collection of unpaid medical bills, a major drag on hospital profit margins.”
Hospitals have been struggling to collect unpaid medical bills as rising numbers of Americans go without health insurance and those with coverage face steeper costs. Unpaid bills, also known as "bad debt," have been rising for several years and are seen worsening in 2007.
Now, patients can get even deeper into debt.
