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How often do hospitals, physicians, and other providers sue patients over unpaid bills?聽
That鈥檚 a question we鈥檝e asked a lot over the last several years at 杨贵妃传媒視頻 Health News. Since 2022, we鈥檝e been working with newsrooms around the country, such as the Connecticut Mirror, to explore the scale and impact of America鈥檚 medical debt crisis. It鈥檚 part of a project we call 鈥淒iagnosis: Debt.鈥澛
We know that this type of debt burdens many people 鈥 about 100 million adults, according to a nationwide survey we did. But in most states, it鈥檚 almost impossible to gauge how many patients are getting taken to court over health care debt.聽
Connecticut鈥檚 court data is different.聽
It offered an opportunity to explore just how many people are being sued over medical and dental bills, who is suing patients, and for how much. Over the past year, I鈥檝e collaborated with CT Mirror reporters Katy Golvala and Jenna Carlesso to learn more about the people facing legal actions.
What we found was surprising 鈥 and sad. This week, we shared the first of our articles, which explores how hospitals have been supplanted by physician groups and other medical and dental providers as the most aggressive bill collectors.
That鈥檚 a major reversal from five years earlier, when hospital system lawsuits made up three-quarters of health-related collection cases in the state鈥檚 courts.
The shift is moving medical debt collections into a less regulated realm. Most hospitals, because they are tax-exempt nonprofits, must make financial aid available to low-income patients and follow federal regulations that limit aggressive collection activities. Other medical providers, such as private medical groups, are generally exempt from these rules.聽
Lawsuits can lead to garnished wages, liens on homes, and hundreds of dollars of added debt from interest and court fees. They also pile additional financial strains on struggling families, prevent patients from getting needed care, and sap trust in medical providers.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really messed up,鈥 said Allie Cass-Wilson, a nurse in Bristol, Connecticut, who was sued over a $1,972 debt by an OB-GYN practice where she鈥檇 been a patient years earlier. She did not contest the lawsuit, court records show. Still, she asked: 鈥淗ow can they do that to people?鈥
Physicians, dentists, and other nonhospital providers account for more than 80% of health care debt collection cases in Connecticut courts, a CT Mirror-杨贵妃传媒視頻 Health News investigation finds.
