A Full-Scale Assault on Medical Debt, Part 2
By BOB HERTZ
The first section of this article stated that many forms of medical debt can be reduced or cancelled by stronger enforcement of consumer protection laws. These debts are not inevitable and are not due to poverty. It would not require trillions of federal dollars to cancel them, either – just the willingness to go against lobbyists.
Therefore
I advocate the following attacks on medical debt:
Phase One
We must
cancel balance bills and surprise bills if there was no prior disclosure.
In most cases,
providers will not have the right to collect anything more than what the insurers pay them.
Phase Two
We must cancel the older, inactive “zombie debts” that are being purchased by collection agencies.
This line of
business must terminate. Providers throughout the country are selling
uncollected medical debt for pennies on the dollar to collection agencies, who aggressively attempt to force
patients to pay the full amount due. These debt collectors harass patients at
work and at home, deploying unscrupulous tactics even after the statute of limitations
on the debt has expired.
Debt collection
lawyers can file hundreds of suits a day, often with little evidence that the
alleged debt is actually owed. Once a lawsuit is filed, the process is
stacked against defendants, the overwhelming majority of whom are not
represented by an attorney. And collectors have a big advantage in small claims
courts, which provide very ...
Source: The Health Care Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Christina Liu Tags: Economics The Business of Health Care balance bills Bob Hertz health economics medical debt surprise billing Source Type: blogs
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