Arkansas Hospital Faces Lawsuits from Employees and Patients Over Pandemic Medical Bills

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has been aggressively suing thousands of patients, including hundreds of its own employees, over unpaid medical bills, according to a CNN investigation. Since 2019, UAMS has filed over 8,000 lawsuits to collect on medical debt, with the number of lawsuits ballooning during the pandemic. Many of the lawsuits involved small amounts of debt, but UAMS added fees and interest charges, sometimes doubling or tripling the original amount owed. The lawsuits have had severe consequences for some defendants, leading to bankruptcy and financial hardship. UAMS, which is Arkansas' largest public employer, defended the lawsuits as necessary for its finances but stated it is evaluating changes to its collections policy.