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We’ve been working on this investigation all year, with our partners at Scripps News and the Baltimore Banner.
For years, we’ve been hearing about hospitals suing patients over unpaid medical bills – sometimes even in bulk, by the hundreds or thousands at a time.
Many of the patients getting sued are already facing financial hardship, or like one couple we interviewed, already in bankruptcy.
Judgments against patients in these suits can be life changing. But according to experts, these lawsuits don’t recoup a ton of lost revenue for hospitals. So why do they happen? And what if hospitals stopped doing it completely?
In this episode, we talk to a former sales rep for a medical-debt collections agency — who now steers hospitals away from efforts to collect money, via lawsuits or other means, from folks who just don’t have it.
He tells hospitals: This is better for your bottom line.
Stay tuned for part two, coming in two weeks.
… and to preview some of what’s in it — plus a whole lot more excellent reporting — check out the Baltimore Banner’s story: Maryland hospitals stopped suing patients with unpaid bills. Will they start again?
This series is produced in partnership with the McGraw Center for Business Journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York.
… and supported by the Fund for Investigative Journalism.
OOH: And don’t forget. It’s prime time to make a donation and support this show.
Here’s a transcript of this episode.
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Badass volunteers help Jared level up, in the fight to crush medical debt
A whole book about fighting effed-up medical bills? Yes, please.
Want to write a killer letter to insurance? Meet Jeannine.
Mini-episode: One guy skirts a medical-bill trap, and shares the secret.
Why picking the right insurance is so hard (bonus/encore)
Programming note: We're working on some cool new stuff.
Who's been trying to cash in on COVID vaccinations? (And how did racism help them out?)
Revisiting insulin, as relevant (and expensive) as ever
A legal strategy for erasing billions in medical debt— that works—from a 60-second video.
A former "bad guy" lawyer shows us how the dark machinery works. And our rights.
Mini-episode: Two small doses of good news
A 21st-century Christmas Carol: How one Scrooge became a health-care whistleblower
From our reporter's notebook: What we learned in 2020, and what's ahead, with T.K. Dutes
Fight! My family tries to pick health insurance for next year. COVID makes it harder.
Andy Slavitt gives us a COVID check-in from 40,000 feet
How to avoid a big bill for your COVID test: with Sarah Kliff of the New York Times
How to Keep Cool in a Tough Moment: A self-defense expert breaks it down
David v Goliath: How to beat a big hospital (using small claims court)
How to handle debt collectors, with the TikTok Mom and a legal expert
Your TikTok Mom has some medical-bill tips, and a hell of a story
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