Sure, universal health coverage will get rid of uninsured patients, the source of most bad debt. However, analysts say that while collection account balances will likely go down, that doesn't mean that there will be fewer collection accounts.
In fact, analysts say that the number of collection accounts may go up because more people would seek care and be responsible for at least part of the bill. And there's no guarantee that premiums will go down, so patients may have less money to pay to hospitals for their portion of the bill.
In all, the news from analysts is such that we shouldn't start celebrating the death of unpaid bills just yet.
To learn more about analyst's predictions:
- read this InsideARM piece