The hospital chain said that since the provider will be responsible for collecting a much smaller portion of the bill from the patient directly (and risk not getting paid), the net effect of the 10 percent discount from traditional commercial rates may be fully mitigated.
EBay makes its money in part by collecting commission fees from sellers, meaning a bill that drives smaller merchants off the site would damage its bottom line.
By contrast, Bill Clinton, who had been collecting supporters since his undergraduate days, at Georgetown, had a huge network in place when he ran for the Presidency, in 1992.