The Wall Street Journal just had an article related to Steve's situation written by Barbara Martinez.
"Hospitals are adopting a policy to improve their finances; making medical care contingent on upfront payments. Typically hospitals have billed people after they receive care. But now, pointing to their burgeoning bad-debt and charity-care costs, hospitals are asking patients for money before they get treated."
The article goes on to say, "The Bad debt is driven by a larger number of Americans who are uninsured or who don't have enough insurace to cover medical costs if catastrophe strikes. Even among those with adequate insurance, deductibles and co-payments are growing so big that insured patients also have trouble paying hospitals."
We should look at this as a blessing that the hospitals admitted Steve and have been helping him to recover and also as a warning for those of us uninsured to do our best to get coverage.
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