Two lawyers write an article in JAMA, saying that it’s the physician’s moral obligation to give free care. They seem immune to the financial pressures doctors face, and as lawyers, really are not in a place to lecture:
Ludwig and Nestle adopt a scolding tone to physicians that ask for immediate co-payments and attempt to collect on overdue bills. The authors site the AMA’s ethical opinion that urges ‘compassion and discretion in hardship cases.’
Every doctor I know gives some degree of charity care to patients, but in the end, it’s impossible do so if the bills aren’t paid:
The fact that it ignores the first rule of business, that if revenues don’t meet expenses the doors shut.
