Unveiling UCHealth's Patient Debt Collection: An Investigation into Thousands of Lawsuits

UCHealth's Aggressive Debt Collection Practices

UCHealth, a prominent healthcare system based in Aurora, Colorado, has recently come under scrutiny for its aggressive approach to patient debt collection. Over the past five years, UCHealth, which reported $7 billion in total operating revenue and $846.6 million of net income during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023, has filed over 15,000 lawsuits against patients, most often under another name. These lawsuits, which represent about 0.07% of its net patient revenue, have raised eyebrows among policymakers, prompting debates about the tax-exempt statuses of nonprofit hospitals like UCHealth.

Under the Radar: Lawsuits Filed Under Third-Party Names

Interestingly, UCHealth's name does not appear on these lawsuits. Instead, they use third-party collection agencies, which file lawsuits in their own names, effectively shielding UCHealth's involvement from public scrutiny. Between 2019 and 2023, UCHealth and these companies filed 15,710 lawsuits, averaging 3,142 lawsuits per year. This opaque practice has made UCHealth one of the most litigious systems in the state, yet it remains invisible to lawmakers, state regulators, and the public at large.

Nonprofit Hospital’s Profit and Patient Debt Collection

As Colorado's largest hospital system, UCHealth, a nonprofit community institution, recorded $839 million in total profit last year and collected over $6 billion in revenue from patient care. The health system assigns the debt to a debt collector, who then files the lawsuits against the patients in its own name. While UCHealth officials argue the lawsuits are an unfortunate necessity in the health care business, not all large hospital systems in Colorado pursue patients this way, stirring a debate about healthcare affordability and patient rights.

Escaping Scrutiny: UCHealth's Tactics Questioned

UCHealth has been using debt collectors instead of their own name as the plaintiff in debt collection lawsuits, a move that has allowed them to sidestep legislative and public scrutiny. This tactic has left many cash-strapped patients confused and critics argue it's illegal. UCHealth executives, however, insist they're being transparent. The ongoing legal dispute offers some insight into why UCHealth stopped suing under its own name in 2020. While the pandemic caused the lawsuits to stop, UCHealth's aggressive bill collection efforts quietly continued. This investigation has uncovered shortcomings in medical billing and has sparked a broader conversation about medical debt.

The Impact on Patients

Many patients sued by UCHealth have shared their stories, shedding light on the emotional and financial distress caused by these lawsuits. While UCHealth collects around $5 million yearly from lawsuits, it also provided $580 million in uncompensated care in the fiscal year 2023. This raises the question of whether such aggressive tactics are necessary or justifiable given the health system's substantial revenue and profits. The revelation of these practices has sparked public interest and calls for transparency and accountability from UCHealth, igniting widespread discussion and debate on social media and news platforms.