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Watch NJP's video to find out how you can get help with medical debt.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced that, as a result of his lawsuit, St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma and seven other CHI Franciscan hospitals will forgive as much as $20 million in debt, pay $2.22 million in refunds, pay the Attorney General’s Office $2.46 million, and rehabilitate the credit of thousands of patients who qualified for charity care between 2012 and 2017 but did not receive it. 

Hundreds lined up at the Kitsap County Courthouse for “LFO Reconsideration Day” to meet with an attorney and make their case to a judge why their debt should be forgiven.

Washington state has among the most punishing laws in the country for people in debt, allowing collection companies to take advantage of high interest rates and of courts that have made it easy to sue and garnish wages.

Debt collection efforts around the United States rely heavily on litigation to collect past due debt. The ease of obtaining default judgments and garnishment orders has led debt buyers to use the courts as a critical tool for extracting payments from consumers, despite the lack of documentation showing that the consumer actually owes the amount claimed. 

Low-income people bear the brunt of the Crisis in Civil Justice System

Debt collection efforts around the United States rely heavily on litigation to collect past due debt. The ease of obtaining default judgments and garnishment orders has led debt buyers to use the courts as a critical tool for extracting payments from consumers, despite the lack of documentation showing that the consumer actually owes the amount claimed. 

"...and justice for all" Civil Legal Aid in Washington State from Office of Civil Legal Aid on Vimeo.