Health care bills are now the largest source of business for collection companies, according to consumer protection agency officials.  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been studying the impact of medical billing on credit scores since 2012.

The problem is accelerating for several reasons. Charges are rising. Insurance policies are requiring more patient outlays in the form of higher deductibles and co-payments. More important, perhaps, is that while doctors’ practices traditionally worked out deals for patients who had trouble paying, today many doctors work for large professionally managed groups and hospital systems whose bills are generated far away, by computer. Examples abound, as exemplified in this editorial, of the complex and confusing system.  Read more…