Insured patients become top reason for bad debt at providers

The amount of bad debt stemming from patients with insurance increased more than five-fold in a three-year period, hitting providers’ financial statements in an already challenging environment.

Almost 58% of patient bad debt in 2021 came from self-pay accounts after insurance, compared with about 11% in 2018, according to a recent study from professional services firm Crowe. Self-pay accounts after insurance include the deductible and…