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I would think it depends if they think you have money (or future earning capacity). If I'm the hospital, and I think you have or will have money, then why not pursue you. On the other hand, if you're poor and having nothing to pursue, then I'll settle for less.

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Sure, but the people in the billing department have never met me? So unless they're doing a credit check or doctors are taking notes on suspected financial situations... I doubt they're doing this.

Employment status, Medicaid status, and zip code you live in are all pretty good proxies. Someone who doesn’t offer employer provided insurance is probably not worth pursuing unless they have some other indicator of wealth.

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