[mindslight]

I do know why the fraud succeeds so much of the time, and I agree your comment does a good job of explaining many of the dynamics. I really meant my lead in more in the context of why relatively informed people discussing this on message boards and in news articles brush past having paid fraudulent bills in such fatalistic terms, rather than stating they were bullied/tricked or they consciously decided it wasn't worth their time to fight. It lends an air of legitimacy to the shakedowns.

I had a durable medical equipment supplier send me a fully "adjusted" and paid by "insurance" bill that I had already paid the correct copay on, but they were still demanding more. I double checked with the "insurance" company, then called the supplier and told them how their bill was wrong. They responded with some nonsense like "that is their price, this is our price. Don't you want to pay what you owe?". I asked them if they liked referrals to the attorney general and they just flat out hung up on me. Never heard another word. These people are shameless.