In recent report from Duke, University, it was reported that non-profit hospitals were responsible for 90% of the 5,900 suits filed against patients -and Atrium Health (the system Baptist Hospital is part of) leads the state in lawsuits over medical debt.
According to the study, 5,922 medical-debt lawsuits were filed between January 2017 and June 2022 involving N.C. hospitals. Nonprofit hospitals were responsible for 90.6% of those lawsuits.
Atrium was determined to have filed 2,487 of those lawsuits.
Non-profit hospital systems are required to provide a certain amount of charity care to maintain their status. Many NC hospitals fail to meet this minimum standard (see report below) yet are among those suing poor patients.
Read the Winston-Salem Journal article by Richard Craver:
Read the study from Duke University:
Read the study about charity care among non-profit hospitals in NC:
NC Hospitals: Charity Case Report
