>>What say you? Hospitals are under increasing pressure from the Feds to aggressively collect these accounts. Medicare takes the view that, if you aren't aggressively collecting, any billing you do of the government (knowing you will be paid), is fraudulent.
However, these stories create enormous anger and resentment aginst hospitals among the public they serve.
What say you?<<
I'm 51 and went without health care insurance for over ten years. Saved a bundle. And if I got something really bad, I accepted that I would have died. The apostle Paul said "for us to die is gain."
A hospital bill is like a water bill or credit card bill. They perform a service and you agree to pay for the service. It is that simple. I have no sympathy whatsoever for this couple regarding the bill. I come down on the side of the Hospital in this particular case.
There are plenty of great Doctors. My Sunday School teacher was perhaps the best surgeon in our city and his income was small. He was also president of the local medical society. On the other hand I recall several Doctors who were making over a million a year.
They are preying on the public.
No parent is going to deny care to their child no matter what. That is the kind of thing Doctors prey on. Not just Doctors but the entire industry.
There was a time when doctors were poorly paid and literally made house calls.
Now most are in the business to get rich.
I don't know what the answer is. Maybe the market will take care of it eventually by increasing the number of doctors but some medical societies make a concerted effort to limit the number of Doctors.
I also agree that excessive mal-practice awards are part of the problem. They should be limited as to amount.