In Kansas City, the bulk of medical‑debt lawsuits are being filed by just two hospitals: the University of Kansas Health System (KU Health) and NKC Health. Together they have filed more than 400 lawsuits against patients in Missouri and Kansas this year, according to a survey by The Beacon.
Legal tactics used by KU Health and NKC Health
Both institutions are the only acute‑care hospitals in the area that garnish wages to collect unpaid bills. NKC Health also places liens on patients’ property, although the hospital describes the practice as “rare” and estimates it affects less than 0.01 % of cases.
Other local providers take different approaches. St. Luke’s Health System and AdventHealth send delinquent accounts to outside collection agencies, but their spokespeople say those agencies do not sue on the hospitals’ behalf, garnish wages, or place liens.
HCA Healthcare, a large for‑profit chain that owns five Kansas City‑area hospitals including Research Medical Center, no longer sues patients over unpaid bills. For‑profit Prime Healthcare, which operates St. Mary’s, St. Joseph and Providence medical centers, did not respond to requests for information, and no recent lawsuits were found in court records.
Numbers behind the lawsuits
NKC Health, the region’s only independent hospital, has filed 92 debt‑collection lawsuits in Missouri courts so far in 2026, according to a cursory count of the state’s court database. A search for the University of Kansas Hospital shows roughly 218 cases in Missouri and 114 in Kansas for the same period. These figures are rough estimates based on publicly available court data.
Charity care and assistance programs
Both hospitals say they work to identify patients who qualify for financial assistance before pursuing legal action, as required by law. KU Health’s billing overseer, Colette Lasack, explained that the hospitals offer discounts and interest‑free payment plans for eligible patients and try to help them obtain insurance coverage, including Medicaid.
Providing charity care is a legal requirement for nonprofit hospitals that receive tax‑free status. In fiscal year 2025, KU Health reported $150.5 million in charity care, down slightly from $155.3 million in 2024, while generating $5.4 billion in operating revenue and $120 million in operating income.
NKC Health reported $20 million in charity care for 2025, up from $12.5 million the prior year, on a net patient‑service revenue base of $788 million. The hospital also wrote off just under $45 million in uncollectible accounts in 2025, compared with roughly $43 million in 2024.
Hospital officials urge patients to communicate
Lasack emphasized that reaching out to the hospital is always preferable to ignoring bills, messages, and phone calls. “The message for patients is, pick up the phone and call us,” she said. “Let us know what’s going on because we’re here to help.”
NKC Health’s chief financial officer, Austin Jones, described the use of “extraordinary collection activities” such as wage garnishment or property liens as rare, though he could not provide precise numbers.
What this means for Kansas City residents
For Kansas City families facing medical debt, the data suggest that most legal pressure comes from KU Health and NKC Health, while other hospitals rely on third‑party collectors. Patients are encouraged to explore charity‑care eligibility and payment‑plan options before a lawsuit is filed.
Understanding each hospital’s debt‑collection policies can help residents avoid costly court actions and protect their financial stability.
Original reporting: The Beacon (Kansas City) — read the source article.
