Senator sued patients over debts
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
A New York Times report says Sen. Roger Marshall sued over 700 patients for medical debts.
The Kansas Republican is running for reelection, so the story now carries political weight.
Background
The New York Times published an investigation into the legal tactics Marshall used to collect unpaid medical bills during his decades as a Kansas OB-GYN. Court records show his practice sued more than 700 patients over debts ranging from $101 to several thousand dollars, charged many an 18 percent annual interest rate, and garnished wages and bank accounts. In 81 cases, patients were arrested for missing court dates; his lawyers sought warrants in at least 13 more. Many of those sued were low-income new mothers in rural Barton County, where his practice was often the only option.
How it unfolded
- 1998 -2019Marshall owned Heartland Regional OBGYN, first alone from 1998 to 2012 and then with another doctor from 2013 to 2019, according to the reporting.
- 2007A police car arrived at Joe Vasquez's rural Kansas home over Easter weekend, one of the debt cases that led to arrests.
- 2017 -2021Marshall continued trying to collect some debts even after he stopped practicing medicine in 2016.
- Sep 8, 2026The New York Times published its investigation into Marshall's debt-collection lawsuits; other outlets reported on it the same day.
- Sep 9, 2026 -10, 2026Democratic Senate candidate Adam Hamilton criticized Marshall over the report, and former patient Meischa Zimmerman spoke publicly about being sued.
Who’s saying what
- Support
- Marshall's spokesperson says he treated patients regardless of their ability to pay and notes that judges, not doctors, issue warrants.
- Critics
- Democratic Senate candidate Adam Hamilton said Marshall must explain why he had patients arrested and jailed over small debts before voting to take away Kansans' health coverage.
- Expert
- Barak Richman of George Washington University told the Times there is wide variation in how doctors handle unpaid bills, from lawsuits to debt collectors to forgiving debts.
- Analysts
- Stanford economist Neale Mahoney said research shows lawsuits against patients occur in about 1.7 percent of hospital stays, calling this an extreme case.
Still unverified
Several patients told the Times they were never notified about court dates before being arrested; Marshall's office has disputed characterizations of his billing practices, and it is unclear whether arrests occurred in 13 additional cases where warrants were sought.