AG Ferguson: Judge orders Providence debt collector Optimum Outcomes to pay $827,000 penalty for violating patients’ medical debt collection rights

Ruling resolves Ferguson’s case against last remaining defendant in charity care lawsuit against Providence and its debt collectors

SEATTLE — The Attorney General’s Office won a trial against debt collection agency Optimum Outcomes. Optimum is the last remaining defendant in Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s charity care lawsuit against Providence Health & Services, one of the nation’s largest health care systems, and its debt collectors.

King County Superior Court Judge Sean O’Donnell ruled that Optimum violated the Consumer Protection Act by violating the medical debt collection rights of Washington patients more than 82,000 times. 

Judge O’Donnell ordered Optimum to pay $10 per violation for a total penalty of $827,290, which will go to the state general fund. 

Optimum must also reimburse the Attorney General’s Office for the costs of bringing the case, which are estimated to exceed $400,000. The court will determine the exact amount in a future proceeding. Finally, Optimum must make reforms to come into compliance with Washington law.

Optimum Outcomes unlawfully collected payments from those patients without providing critical information about their rights when faced with medical debt. By excluding the legally required disclosures about financial assistance in its collection letters, Optimum Outcomes created barriers that kept patients who likely qualified for financial assistance from learning about and accessing help with their hospital bills.

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