Part of the problem is that hospitals don't disclose prices before performing services.

So patients must agree to a procedure -- yet only afterward find out how much it costs. That price can be shocking, and the patient never agreed to pay it. No wonder it becomes hard to collect from them.

In the rest of the economy, we agree on a price beforehand. That makes customers more likely to pay.

The medical system, however, has given up on disclosing prices to patients, because everything is paid by insurance. And now we have Doctors who say:

> “It's harder to collect from the patient than it is from the insurance,” said Amy Derick, a doctor who heads a dermatology practice outside Chicago.

If you want people to pay, then make an agreement with them before you perform the service!