Fewer private insurance holders may raise collections volumes

According to a recent U.S. Census Bureau report, more Americans are poverty-stricken and incomes are falling, which may put pressure on healthcare providers to designate receivables to debt collection agencies, insideArm reports. The report revealed that the national poverty rate rose from 14.3 percent in 2009 to 15.1 percent in 2010 - its highest level since 1993. The uninsured rate for children in poverty, 15.4 percent, was significantly higher than the 9.8 percent rate for all children. Furthermore, the overall percentage of people with private insurance dropped from 64.5 percent to 64 percent during that same time period. In all, 49.9 million - 16.3 percent of the population under the age of 65 - don't have health insurance. The drop in people with private insurance may benefit the healthcare collections industry, Mark Russell, analyst for debt collection advisory group Kaulkin Ginsberg, told the news source. "I don't see healthcare collections suffering," he said. "If anything, there may be a temporary increase in volume." The collections industry will further benefit from the increased number of people on government insurance programs, the news source adds. As a result, collectors won't "waste time and resources trying to collect money from people who don't have it."