Discharged Into Debt: Nonprofit Hospitals File Liens On Patients’ Homes

Report | Nov. 2021 |View the Press Release

Discharged Into Debt: Nonprofit Hospitals File Liens On Patients’ Homes

Elisabeth Ryden Benjamin, Amanda Dunker

Summary:

This report examines how New York’s nonprofit hospitals secure liens against patients’ homes in the wake of a medical debt judgment, jeopardizing both the physical and fiscal health of their patients. Between 2017 and 2018, 56 hospitals imposed 4,880 liens on the homes of their patients with outstanding medical bills while collecting over $442 million in state funds (called the Indigent Care Pool) to support their provision of uncompensated care.

Research described in this report indicates that medical debt is strongly associated with housing insecurity, which in turn is related to poor health outcomes. In recognition of the importance that home ownership plays in the health and economic security of their residents, 10 states have laws that bar hospitals and other creditors from securing liens against primary residences. In New York, a bill to protect patients’ homes from aggressive medical debt collectors is pending in the state legislature (S6522/A7363)—and its passage is long overdue.

Issues: Access to Health Care

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