PPO growth means rise in self-pay debt

Anne Zieger — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:39:35 -0400

New research suggests that state and local governments are increasingly shifting from HMO model health plans to PPO models, with plans that require employees to pay more of the tab. Analysts with the research firm HealthLeaders-InterStudy say that this trend is contributing to the growth in self-pay medical expenses, which have become the fastest rising segment of a hospital's bad debt expenses. Article