Last December I told you about MedFICO scores, a new method for rating credit that is being used by hospitals to make determinations about patient billing.
This week, the Wall Street Journal told us about just how hospitals are beginning to use credit information. Not just a few of them -- 20 percent of them!
They claim the information is being used only to determine who they should hound when bills go unpaid. Got great credit? Even if you are a little late, they'll leave you alone. Is your credit really lousy? Then knowing they can't get blood out of your bank turnip, they'll probably leave you alone, too.
But if you're in the middle? Brace yourself for phone calls if your payments are late.
Of course, patient advocates wonder at what point the line gets crossed to where private hospitals might turn patients away... or... yes -- it's a slippery slope.
But as a business owner myself, a self-employed person who understands what profit and paying the bills is all about -- I have to ask myself what's wrong with hospitals making sure they bring in enough money to pay their own bills?
As an empowered patient, you'll want to learn more about this practice, and what you as a patient can do to protect yourself if you object.
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