After Washington state lawsuit, Providence health system erases or refunds $158M in medical bills

By GENE JOHNSON
Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) — Providence health care system is refunding nearly $21 million in medical bills paid by low-income residents of Washington — and it’s erasing $137 million more in outstanding debt for tens of thousands of others — to settle the state’s allegations that it overcharged those patients and then used aggressive collection tactics when they failed to pay. The announcement Thursday came just weeks before Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s case was set for trial against Providence Health and Services. The state argued that the medical system’s practices violated the state’s charity care law, which requires hospitals to notify patients about the availability of financial aid and to screen them for eligibility.