As Patients Struggle With Bills, Hospital Sues Thousands
Most hospitals do not frequently take patients to court over medical debt. But since 2015, Carlsbad Medical Center, in New Mexico, has filed lawsuits by the thousands.
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CARLSBAD, N.M. — The first time Carlsbad Medical Center sued Misti Price, she was newly divorced and working two jobs to support her three young children.
The hospital demanded payment in 2012 for what Ms. Price recalled as an emergency room visit for one of her children who has asthma. She could not afford a lawyer, and she did not have the money to pay the bill.
Ms. Price let the summons go unanswered, figuring she would settle the balance — with interest, about $3,600 — when she could. A few months later, she opened her paycheck and discovered the hospital had garnished her wages by $870 a month.
Her car was soon repossessed because she could no longer make the payments. She was on the verge of losing her house, too, when her mortgage company stepped in to help her save it.
“I was going to let it go,” Ms. Price said, tearing up recently in an interview at the Carlsbad Public Library. “It was tough.”
And it was only the beginning. Ms. Price, 40, a nurse and local 4-H leader, has been sued five times by Carlsbad Medical Center, for bills totaling more than $17,000.
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