Doctor-turned-senator sued 700+ patients for medical debts, often charging 18% interest

A physician in Kansas was found to have sued more than 700 patients over unpaid medical bills during his 20+ years working as an OB-GYN, routinely charging them 18% interest as part of an effort to garnish wages. That doctor, Roger Marshall, is now a Republican U.S. senator representing the state.

The details were revealed in a report from the New York Times, using court records from Kansas for its analysis.

According to the outlet, Marshall sued patients for as little as $101, sometimes listing himself as the plaintiff rather than his practice, Heartland Regional OBGYN. 

In many cases, the defendants were new mothers being billed for the costs associated with labor and delivery.

In addition to his practice, Marshall and eight other doctors opened a small surgery center in 1998 that slowly grew into a full-scale hospital, bringing in tens of millions in annual revenue. According to the Times, the senator remained on the board of that hospital until 2017, when he was sworn into office as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Patients of his practice, as well as those he saw in the hospital, were sued at rates that an expert economist at Stanford University told the Times were much higher than average.

Many of Marshall’s patients—81 in total—ended up being arrested for missing court dates associated with the medical debt. Two of them were a married couple who told reporters they were simply unable to pay the $4,561 bill they received for an emergency hysterectomy.

They spent Easter weekend 2007 in jail.

Whether patients showed up for court or not, Marshall’s lawyers were said to have pushed for wage garnishment, automatically siphoning debts from paychecks and bank accounts. It is the senator’s law firm that tacked on 18% annual interest to many of the balances owed, the Times reported.

Hippocratic Oath

Payton Fuller, a spokeswoman for Marshall, told the outlet he has “spent decades caring for patients regardless of their ability to pay,” adding that he “used the exact same billing and outside collection procedures as every other business or hospital in Kansas.”

A lawyer who represented Marshall confirmed it was their client’s decision to set the interest rate on back debts to 18%, as it was part of a contract that patients signed. The attorney added that Marshall was not involved in the decision to issue warrants or garnish wages.

The Republican senator is up for reelection this year against Democrat Adam Hamilton, a Methodist pastor.

Read the full story from the New York Times by clicking the link below.