Some hospitals seek upfront payments from insured patients

Some hospitals and medical groups are starting to make insured patients pay out-of-pocket costs up front. With one in five Americans now on a high-deductible health plan, healthcare providers say that asking for advanced payments--or setting up payment plans for patients--helps them ensure that care gets paid for. This need takes on added importance as providers struggle with bad debt; hospital debt has nearly doubled in two years in Kentucky and Indiana, for example. >> Read the full article on FierceHealthFinance.