| We speak with Jim Bean who was jailed in Illinois
in part because he failed to pay a hospital bill and we hear
from the CFO of the hospital that sought his arrest as well as a
member of a grass roots citizen action organization in Illinois.
Hospitals hound uninsured patients for medical bill payment
using collection agencies and lawyers who use such methods as
filing lawsuits, slapping liens on homes, seizing bank accounts,
and garnishing wages to extract payment.
Some hospitals now rank among America's most aggressive
debt-collectors. Some also use one of the harshest and
least-known collections tactics of all: seeking the arrest of
no-show debtors.
Hospitals in several states have secured the arrest and even
jailing of patients who miss court hearings on their debts. This
legal tactic is chillingly known in some areas as "Body
Attachment."
Jim Bean, Urbana Illinois based musician who was
jailed for several hours in November 2001 in part because he
failed to pay a hospital bill. Claudia Lennhoff,
executive director of Champaign County Health Care in Illinois
Consumers Robert Tonkinson, chief financial officer for
Carle Foundation Hospital, the primary teaching hospital of the
University of Illinois
To purchase an audio or video copy of this entire program, click
here for our new online ordering or call 1 (800) 881-2359. |
