Some Hospitals Use On-Line Auctions to Sell Patient Debt

OPEN MINDS On-Line News Strategic Health Care News Some U.S. hospitals are using on-line auctions to sell off patient debt. Traditionally hospitals have worked with collection agencies to settle patient debt or written unpaid bills off as charity care. In the auctions, collection agencies and others can buy the debt or guarantee payments to the hospitals for access to the unpaid accounts. This method of discharging debt is much like the way retail businesses manage consumer credit card debt, but with a few specific differences: Hospitals have the final say over who takes over their debt. In . . .