To ensure they get paid, doctors seek entire bill for patient share upfront

Wall Street Journal, August 5, 2009

Medical practices and clinics increasingly are asking people to pay their entire out-of-pocket charge as they are walking out after a visit. That could include paying amounts a patient owes toward their health plan's deductible and a percentage of the cost of care under a co-insurance requirement. Patients who are uninsured also are being asked for money upfront or to sign up for a payment plan. And physician practices have started demanding patients pay in advance for outpatient surgeries and expensive imaging scans, a practice that certain hospitals have long enforced.