I’m Fighting the North Carolina Healthcare Cartel

North Carolina hospitals have successfully sued thousands of patients and their families for $57 million in medical debt, according to a report released by Duke University and my state treasurer’s office on August 17. Our report that found that more than 7,500 North Carolina patients and family members were sued over medical debt over the past five years. In the SHP report, 71 of the 140 hospitals reviewed disclosed commercial insurance prices for the 16 medical procedure categories, while 59 disclosed the out-of-pocket costs. More than 90% of the hospitals most aggressive in pursuing lawsuits against patients are nonprofits with a mandate of providing free or discounted care to North Carolina’s poor, resulting in 5,922 lawsuits against patients.

These legal successes have been to the detriment of many of those patients, some of whom did not know they had been sued over medical debt in the first place. In addition to the threat of losing equity in their homes, many individuals with medical debt also face other risks. Those facing mounting health care bills were more than twice as likely to become food insecure and three times as likely to be evicted or face a foreclosure.

Thousands of families have lost their upward mobility to hospital lawsuits, but we don’t even know if they were sued over inflated prices. When patients tried to fight back, they argued that they could not even tell whether they had been charged a fair price. The reality is that hospitals are not transparent on pricing with patients. Three people can walk into the same facility and get the exact same service or benefit or product and possibly charged be charged three wildly different prices for it.

The report shows that North Carolina hospitals levy massive price markups of up to 1,120% on routine care and basic services, and the most expensive hospitals charged commercially insured patients as much as 1,670% more than other hospitals for the same service. Too many North Carolina hospitals are violating federal rules to hide their prices from patients.

• On average, only 51% of hospitals disclosed commercial insurance prices across 16 common shoppable services.
• This disclosure rate dropped to 42% for cash prices across the 16 shoppable services.
• Just five hospitals disclosed commercial prices for every service.
• Just 27 hospitals published commercial prices for obstetric care during childbirth, denying insured women the opportunity to shop for affordable care when expecting a child.

I’m pushing for the full passage of my Medical Debt De-Weaponization Act (Senate Bill 321), seeking to require large providers to post their price information.

We are dealing with hospital CEOs who give the middle finger to the IRS rules that say they are supposed to provide charity care equal to the tax benefit they receive.

Watch my interview with NBC News NOW.

You can read more on my fight against the healthcare cartel and the report findings:

• Washington Examiner: A rare chance to deliver a bipartisan win for patients
• Politico: State lawmakers find America’s medical debt problem ‘can no longer be ignored’
• North Carolina hospitals pricing and transparency called out in new report
• Folwell sharply critical of health systems
• State Health Plan report accuses NC hospitals of ‘massive’ price markups
• Folwell: Hospitals make big price markups
• State report shows extreme variations in hospital prices in North Carolina
• Report: Hospitals noncompliant with price transparency, make huge price markups
• NC hospitals inflate prices and lack transparency, says new state health plan report
• Some states back hospital mergers despite record of service cuts, price hikes
• NC hospitals sued 7,500+ patients, families over medical debt
• Report: NC hospitals sued more than 7,500 patients for over $57.3M in judgments
• Researchers, state Treasurer highlight plight of NC residents with medical debt
• Treasurer: Study shows how hospital bills become medical debt nightmares for thousands of North Carolinians
• NC hospitals rake in millions from medical debt lawsuits
• Atrium Health leads state in lawsuits over medical debt. Non-profit hospitals were responsible for 90% of the 5,900 suits filed.
• Our Opinion: Bombshell study shows NC hospitals abusing the courts
• Crippling medical debt, and litigation, in report from Duke, state treasurer
• North Carolina hospitals have sued thousands of their patients, report finds
• ABC13: Mission Health counted among 5 NC hospitals for high number of lawsuits against patients, report shows
• NPR: Hospitals sued thousand of patients in North Carolina for unpaid bills, report finds
• Hospitals sue thousands of NC patients, many unknowingly
• Business North Carolina: Charlotte-area hospitals tops in filing medical-debt lawsuits, study says
• New Report Reveals Thousands of Patients in North Carolina Hospitals Being Sued
• NC hospitals debt collection practiced targeted in new report]
• CBS 17: NC patients dealing with medical debt and what officials are discussing
• Charlotte-area hospitals named in series of patient lawsuits over medical debt

The contracts prove that these hospitals are being compensated on profits, not patients. Every citizen is impacted, especially those that participate in the state health plan. The healthcare cartel is impacting everyone, including those who teach, protect or otherwise serve taxpayers.

As your next governor, I pledge to always fight for common sense conservatism and better government.