Axios is out with an in-depth story about how rising deductibles and out-of-pocket costs are leaving patients responsible for bloated medical bills. A new analysis by Johns Hopkins University reveals that many of the top 100 hospitals by revenue in the U.S. use predatory tactics to pursue patients with unpaid bills. According to the story, the top 100 hospitals in the nation, on average, charged patients seven times the cost of service, with markup calculated from the American Hospital Directory's cost-to-charge ratio. Private, for-profit hospitals average markup of almost 12 times the cost of service. In the same story: 64 percent of patients say they have avoided or delayed medical care due to fear of the cost of the treatment.
NCPA
