11.   Further, New York has a high rate of uninsured patients.

12.   He was diagnosed with HIV this year as an uninsured Grady patient.

13.   Hospital districts call the potential financial hit especially painful because they are already struggling with a rising number of uninsured patients as well as Medicare cuts.

14.   However, the military should be paid by the community for caring for uninsured civilian patients, he said.

15.   If the slowdown increases, the number of uninsured patients could increase, raising costs.

16.   If the hospital cannot collect from the uninsured patient, as it usually cannot, it raises the charges on everyone else.

17.   In addition, the hospitals have raised the sliding-scale fees they charge uninsured patients and have become far more aggressive in demanding payment before treatment takes place.

18.   Indeed, doctors poured out heart-rending stories of uninsured elderly patients who cannot afford the drugs to keep them alive or manage their pain.

19.   The affected payments include annual increases that reflect inflation as well as reimbursement to hospitals for treating uninsured patients.

20.   The program covers uninsured patients.