Prevalence and Characteristics of Virginia Hospitals Suing Patients and Garnishing Wages for Unpaid Medical Bills.

Bruhn, William E; Rutkow, Lainie; Wang, Peiqi; Tinker, Stephen E; Fahim, Christine; Overton, Heidi N; Makary, Martin A · JAMA · 2019

cross_sectional · Level IV

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Abstract

This study uses 2017 court records to characterize how frequently Virginia hospitals take legal action to garnish patients’ wages to recover unpaid medical expenses, and the characteristics of hospitals and patient employers associated with the actions.