Time for the Government Self-Pay Bail Out!

The payer mix has certainly shifted within the last year. We are seeing a rapid increase in Self-Pay/Patient Responsibility. We are also seeing an increase in collections and write-offs for patients with large dollar balances. These patients have incurred a large amount of debt and risk bankruptcy, not by bad choices, but by unexpected illness.

Should a case be made to provide a bail-out to them? Or are they small enough to be allowed to fail?