Hospital owners such as Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare Corp. have reported more bad debt pressure tied to high-deductible — also known as consumer-directed — plan enrollees. A number of providers are experiencing an increase in bad debt and charity care for patients with high-deductible plans, Caroline Steinberg, vice president for trends analysis at the American Hospital Association, told Kaiser Health News.
As of last year, 19 percent of all employer-covered workers were enrolled in a high-deductible plan, more than double the amount enrolled the year before, according to the report.
Although supporters of the high-deductible policies say they motivate consumers to avoid needless care, many people don’t fully understand their plans and realize they aren’t as covered as they thought at the hospital, Ms. Steinberg told Kaiser Health News.
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