UK Health Care Collections

Background:

UK is currently engaged in litigation over occasions when it utilizes the state revenue department to – as a last resort – help with collections on unpaid bills for health care services.

Statement:

“The challenge we face is that it is important to try to collect unpaid bills as it relates to the costs everyone pays for health care. Unpaid bills can impact the cost of care for everyone. So, the University and UK HealthCare need a system for collecting bills – whether we do that internally or through a third-party like the state. In our case, I know that UK HealthCare, for example, as a matter of policy, reaches out to try to contact someone several times when a bill is late. There are multiple appeals built into the process, too. Also, if someone can’t pay and has need, we work with them on a payment schedule that, we hope, can work for them. In other words, we try to conduct this process in as sensitive and compassionate a manner as possible.”