TN Court Develops Platform for Negotiating Medical Debt Challenges

A Tennessee court has developed an online dispute resolution platform to help residents negotiate solutions to medical debt challenges without filing a lawsuit.

Judge Alex McVeagh of the Hamilton County General Sessions Court helped create the online process with support from the Tennessee Supreme Court and the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts.

The online dispute resolution platform is available to people with medical debts owed to Erlanger Baroness Hospital. Individuals can register on the TN Med Debt site, where they send a message to the health system regarding their medical debt.

An Erlanger representative can send messages back and offer possible strategies to manage the debt, such as payment plans or adjusted pricing. The feature on the platform is asynchronous, allowing parties to send messages at any time.

Attorneys from Legal Aid of East Tennessee helped develop the language on the platform that guides participants through the dispute process.

“This is a program that is designed to give you and the healthcare provider an opportunity to discuss, negotiate, and possibly agree on some deal to resolve a medical bill,” McVeagh said in the press release. “And best of all, it’s completely free, voluntary, and confidential.”

Individuals with medical debt can also use the platform to request assistance from a Rule 31-trained mediator. Rule 31 is Tennessee’s Alternative Dispute Resolution regulation that allows civil or domestic court case parties to use mediation.

If users choose to request a mediator, the mediator will not take a side in the negotiation and will work to generate potential solutions that satisfy both parties, the court said.

McVeagh and fellow creators said they hope the online dispute resolution platform will help people work out their medical debt challenges without experiencing the disruption of appearing in a courtroom.

The online dispute resolution technology differs from other platforms that states have created for negotiating legal disputes, according to the press release. Hamilton County’s platform focuses only on medical claims and prioritizes finding solutions before the issue is filed in court.

Tennessee has the tenth highest rate of medical debt in the country, with 93 out of 95 counties having medical debt above the national average. Additionally, one in four Tennesseans report that medical debt has negatively impacted their credit history.

“Tennessee families have faced many challenges this year, from COVID-19 to the economy and their own pocketbooks,” Deborah Taylor Tate, director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, said. “By providing an opportunity to resolve debt easily before it causes even more stress or additional legal issues, this program will be a real solution for families in the Chattanooga area.”

Medical debt can present significant problems for individuals, the court noted in the press release. For example, people may have a complaint filed against them in court for not paying a debt, default on the debt, and face a garnishment or lien.

“I have personally seen garnishments of wages, evictions, credit card debt suits, credit bureau disputes, and even criminal cases flowing from underlying medical and other consumer debt—all negatively affecting creditors, debtors, and a clogged court system,” McVeagh added.

Hamilton County created the platform to help Tennessee residents manage financial hurdles due to medical debt, but Erlanger Baroness Hospital has also embraced it.

“Through this program, Erlanger can work directly with patients regarding their billing concerns so outstanding medical debt can be resolved without involving collection agencies, credit reporting, lawsuits, or additional stress,” Christopher Spady, vice president of revenue cycle at Erlanger Health System, said. “This eliminates the expense and hassle of going to court, and it also allows Erlanger to continue doing what we do best, compassionately caring for our patients.”

The platform is currently in a pilot phase, with the creators hoping for success that will lead to the development of similar programs across the state of Tennessee.