Marshall's 18% Medical-Bill Interest Was the Highest in Kansas, Star Analysis Finds
A New York Times investigation in early September put Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) on the defensive: during more than two decades as an OB-GYN in Great Bend, he sued over 700 patients over unpaid bills, courts issued arrest warrants for 81 of them, and his law firm charged 18% annual interest while garnishing wages. A new Kansas City Star analysis finds that 18% was by far the highest rate among roughly 150 Kansas medical practices whose public records were reviewed.
Times reporter Sarah Kliff's review of Kansas court records found that between 1998 and 2019, Marshall and his Great Bend obstetrics practice — which he solely owned from 1998 to 2012 and co-owned through 2019 — filed debt-collection lawsuits against more than 700 patients, over balances ranging from $101 to several thousand dollars. About half the suits were filed under Marshall's own name. Most patients lived in Barton County, a rural area with above-average poverty and uninsured rates; many were new mothers billed for delivery costs.
Joe Vasquez's wife had an emergency hysterectomy that left a $4,561 bill. On Easter weekend in 2007, the couple was taken into custody after missing a court date — arrested as their grandchildren prepared for an egg hunt — and spent two days in jail before their son could borrow the money for bond. "We had no money to pay," Vasquez told the Times. Meischa Zimmerman was arrested three times over six years, the first while eight months pregnant; her cesarean-delivery bill grew past $7,000 with interest.
Marshall's camp denies wrongdoing. Spokeswoman Peyton Fuller said the practice "used the exact same billing and outside collection procedures as every other business or hospital in Kansas" and "provided millions in uncompensated care." Marshall himself called the practices "very common." Steven Johnson, the lawyer who handled the cases, argued Marshall was not involved in decisions to seek warrants or garnishments — while acknowledging that the 18% rate was set by Marshall himself through contracts patients signed.
The Star's analysis of Kansas court records found that hospitals and clinics suing patients is not unusual across the state — but Marshall's 18% annual interest was by far the highest of the roughly 150 practices reviewed, undercutting the "very common" defense. Zimmerman now appears in a campaign ad for Democratic challenger Rev. Adam Hamilton, recounting her arrests; Marshall's lawyers sent a cease-and-desist letter calling the ad "defamatory."
Marshall is seeking a second term against Hamilton in a competitive race — Kansas hasn't elected a Democratic senator since 1932 — and the two clashed over the issue at the Kansas State Fair. The broader backdrop: Medscape's 2026 Patient Relationships Index shows 87% of patients still trust their doctors' clinical judgment, but more than half of physicians say healthcare costs are eroding that trust, and KFF Health News reports that physicians and non-hospital providers now drive the majority of medical-debt lawsuits nationally. The outcome of this race could set a new marker for medical-debt collection nationwide.