Washington State's Attorney General ordering Providence to forgive more than
$137,000,000 in medical debt.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson says this impacts nearly 100,000 Washingtonians.
He's calling it the largest resolution of its kind in
the entire country,
so this settlement also includes a refund of more than
$20 million to low income patients.
Ferguson filed an enforcement action against the healthcare system for,
quote, deceiving patients into believing they had no choice.
But to pay their medical bill,
we reached out to Providence and the CFO tells us
they've agreed to pay St.
in part, quote. Serving those in need,
regardless of their ability to pay is at the very
heart of Providence's mission and values.
We have already begun providing payments with interest to individuals
and are continuing to review our files to ensure we
have not missed anyone.
Patients who received care between 2018 and October of 2023
will get a letter from Ferguson about this settlement.