Name:   wix - Subject:   Goofbutt the Googler Date:   3/4/2016 9:56:12 AM

The reason there is such a variance in billing vs gubment payments has little to do with profitability and more to do with recovering lost costs created by gubment forced treatment of illegals and uninsured at hospital loss w/o gubment reimbursement.  Many years ago an amendment law was attached to the Hill-Burton law that said if the hospital received Fed funding, then the hospital had to treat patients regardless of whether they could pay or not.  That law hit the small county hospitals which were built under H-B.  Then the Feds passed a law that made all hospitals give free stuff.  Now if one customer gets free stuff, the other customers have to make up the difference...right?  With all the illegals having drugged up anchor babies,  local druggie dimokraps having drugged up babies without Medicaid, etc., hospital unreimbursed costs have gone thru the roof, so they just keep adding to the list price of the bill.

Yes, it is a very stupid system, but don't blame the hospital.  Many small hospitals have folded because of gubment stupidity.....let's just hope o-BAMAcare doesn't force them all out of business.