NEW PatientRightsAdvocate.org Academic Report Reveals Nonprofit UCHealth Used Intermediaries to Sue Thousands of Patients for Medical Bills
Today, PatientRightsAdvocate.org (PRA) released a joint report with George Washington University (GWU) and Stanford University School of Medicine (Stanford) detailing how nonprofit health system UCHealth brought more than 15,700 lawsuits against Colorado patients from 2019 through 2023 for medical debt. Patients who were sued reported not having easy access to prices, blocking them from verifying the accuracy of hospital charges.
UCHealth used intermediaries to covertly sue patients for unpaid bills that reportedly contained errors, hidden fees, and inflated prices. The report reveals that many of the lawsuits were products of an opaque billing system. Findings also identify wide price variation, showing prices for common procedures varied by as much as 247 times across UCHealth hospitals in Colorado.
“For years, UCHealth has hidden their prices then unaccountably sued Colorado patients through intermediaries over unpaid bills, leaving many with garnished wages and seized bank accounts,” said Cynthia Fisher, founder and chairman of PRA. “Without price transparency and itemized bills, these patients have no way to verify hospital charges are legitimate and not the result of overbilling or fraud. No court should issue potentially financially devastating judgments over a bill that's erroneous or whose underlying prices can’t be proven appropriate.”
One filed patient answer against UCHealth in Larimer County stated: “I had to take some time to wrap my head around the fact the hospital was suing me. The amount that they say they are charging me is out of this world. I have not seen a detail list of what they are charging me and if [the bill] is even correct.”
Read “Hospitals Suing Patients - The Rise Of Stealth Intermediaries” full report here.
Background from PatientRightsAdvocate.org:
Under Colorado’s 2023 hospital price transparency law, patients now have the right to see upfront prices for care.
In October 2024, PatientRightsAdvocate.org launched ColoradoHospitalPrices.org to give Colorado patients access to compare prices upfront, as well as seek remedy and recourse against hospital lawsuits.
In November 2024, PatientRightsAdvocate.org released its 7th Semi-Annual Hospital Price Transparency Report, which found 60% of reviewed Colorado hospitals to be in full compliance with the federal price transparency rule.
Findings also included a commonsense assessment that reviewed the sufficiency of pricing data posted by hospitals. Only 9% of Colorado hospitals were found to have sufficient pricing data to allow patients to make informed decisions.
In February 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order requiring real prices, not estimates, from hospitals, insurers, and middle players.
About PRA
PatientRightsAdvocate.org is a nonprofit organization fighting for systemwide healthcare price transparency. We seek to empower patients and consumers with actual, upfront prices, greatly reducing healthcare costs through a functional, competitive market.