Patient advocates are urging UCHealth, Colorado’s largest healthcare provider, to halt its practice of suing patients over unpaid medical bills. The calls for reform come after revelations that the system has filed more lawsuits than any other major provider in the state, sparking concerns about the impact on financially vulnerable individuals.
Driving the news: The Center for Health Progress and other advocacy groups are pressing UCHealth to adopt less aggressive collection practices, arguing that many patients being sued would qualify for financial assistance but struggle to navigate complex hospital systems.
- Dana Kennedy, co-executive director of the Center for Health Progress, emphasized that patients facing lawsuits often are not avoiding their bills but lack clear access to support programs. “In an emergency, you may end up at a UCHealth hospital. The last thing you want to worry about is being sued,” she said.
- Advocates also point to examples of wage garnishments and lawsuits targeting individuals who had believed their balances were paid off.
Zoom in: From August to December 2024, UCHealth filed 351 lawsuits against patients for unpaid bills, outpacing other facilities like Children’s Hospital (263 lawsuits) and National Jewish (31 lawsuits). Some patients discovered they were being sued only after being served court documents or notified of wage garnishments by their employers.
State comparisons: Colorado’s recent House Bill 1380 now requires hospitals to disclose their names in lawsuits, providing transparency for legal actions. This law aims to address past practices where UCHealth used third-party debt collectors to file lawsuits under their names, obscuring the true scale of the litigation.
- In contrast, HCA HealthONE, a major for-profit system in Colorado, avoids suing patients or reporting them to credit bureaus, instead opting for more lenient financial policies.
- Hospitals in North Carolina, Colorado, Texas, Virginia, Oklahoma, New York, Tennessee, Kansas, Maryland, New Jersey, and Wisconsin have all accused of being “too aggressive” by filing lawsuits to collect on unpaid debts.
Between the lines: Advocates argue that the legal actions harm patients already struggling financially, forcing them to miss work, hire lawyers, and navigate an intimidating court system. Critics also highlight the challenges patients face in accessing financial assistance, with hospital websites and communication systems often being difficult to navigate.
