Hundreds of hospitals sue patients or take other legal actions, such as garnishing wages, to collect on medical debt, according to a Dec. 21 report from Kaiser Health News.
The news outlet investigated billing and financial aid practices at a sample of 528 hospitals across the country, according to the report. Researchers investigated each of the selected hospitals, reviewing thousands of pages of policy and other documents. The investigation also involved thousands of phone and email inquiries and interviews to obtain and clarify how the hospitals handle patients with unpaid bills.
Five things to know:
1. At least 297 of the hospitals investigated will sue patients or take other legal actions to collect on unpaid bills. It was unclear whether 95 of the hospitals take legal action, and 136 don't take legal action.
2. Eighty-eight of the hospitals post their collection policies online that explain what tactics they use to collect bills and what can happen to patients who don't pay. Another 231 posted some but not all of their collection policies online, and 209 had no policies posted.
3. Ninety of the hospitals investigated will deny nonemergency medical care to patients with past-due bills, and 312 do not deny care.
4. The investigation found that 291 of the hospitals will report patients who don't pay their bills to credit reporting agencies.
5. Researchers found that 99 of the hospitals will sell patient debt to third-party buyers who can then pursue patients to collect. It was unclear whether 133 of the hospitals sell patient debt, and 296 do not.