This post was originally written in February of 2008. In light of the healthcare debate, I figure the post is worth reposting.
Healthcare. The debate is everywhere right now.
It occurred to me that the last time I was in Small Claims Court that most of the cases on the docket involved defendants who were being sued for unpaid medical bills.
I did a quick search of active small claims cases filed by ECHN (Manchester Memorial Hospital) and Hartford Hospital in Connecticut small claims court.
As of this morning a search for ECHN turned up 1,000 active small claims cases (which is the maximum allowed by a search meaning there are likely more than 1,000 active cases).
A search of active cases for Hartford Hospital returned 514 active cases.
I did not check every case to see if it was a collection matter but if I had to guess the vast majority of the cases were for unpaid medical bills.
I also did not check the regular civil docket which would include cases where the alleged damages (unpaid medical bills) are in excess of $5,000.00.
I’m not sure of the solution but clearly there is a problem.