By Rachana Pradhan | KFF Health News
When Jessica Staten’s kidney stones wouldn’t pass, she said, her doctor suggested a procedure to “blow ’em up.” She went to have it done last November at St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham, Washington, one of nine hospitals that the Catholic health system PeaceHealth operates in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.
“I was probably there a total of 3½ hours, and everything went well,” said Staten, who works as an accountant and has health insurance. What came next shocked her: PeaceHealth sent a bill for $5,313.63 and, she said, told her she didn’t qualify for help to lower the cost. Staten said she asked about financial assistance but was told she earned slightly too much.
PeaceHealth aims to “carry on the healing mission of Jesus Christ by promoting personal and community health, relieving pain and suffering, and treating each person in a loving and caring way,” according to a 2022 tax filing.
For Staten, suffering lingered long after receiving care from the health system with the only hospital in town.
To pay off her medical bill, Staten ultimately took on more debt, using her condo as collateral to secure a line of credit of more than $5,000, according to records reviewed by KFF Health News. She said the line of credit had an 11.2% interest rate. That was cheaper than a payment plan the hospital offered through a third party, which Staten said she was told would have charged about 12.5% interest.
“It’s all about the money,” said Staten, who has lived in Bellingham for more than 30 years. “That’s the way they think now at the hospital.”
PeaceHealth spokesperson Victoria Wilson said the hospital offers patients interest-free 12-month payment plans. For some patients, the monthly obligation is unaffordable. PeaceHealth also now offers longer-term plans with a 9% interest rate “in alignment with current regulations,” she said, declining to elaborate further.
“Each patient who comes to us…
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