Skip to content
ProPublica Donate
ProPublica Donate

Profiting from the Poor

Inside Memphis’ Debt Machine

An investigation into what keeps poor people poor in a city where wages are low.

Impact of Our Reporting
Caret

Profiting from the Poor

What Happens After a Debt Collection Machine Grinds to a Halt

One year ago, Methodist Le Bonheur hospital system erased nearly $12 million of medical debt after an investigation from MLK50 and ProPublica. We checked in with two women who have new jobs and a new optimism about their future.

Local Reporting Network

Profiting from the Poor

We Reported on a Nonprofit Hospital System That Sues Poor Patients. It Just Freed Thousands From Debt.

After an investigation by MLK50 and ProPublica, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare is erasing debt for unpaid hospital bills owed by more than 6,500 patients. Our reporting found the hospital had profited by aggressively pursuing patients who couldn’t pay.

Local Reporting Network

Profiting from the Poor

“Humbled”: Nonprofit Christian Hospital Dials Back Aggressive Debt Collection and Raises Wages After Our Investigation

MLK50 and ProPublica found that Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare sued thousands of low-income patients, including dozens of its own employees, over five years. The hospital system just announced major policy changes in response.

Local Reporting Network

Profiting from the Poor

Hospital Suspends Debt Collection Lawsuits Amid Furor Over Suing Its Own Employees

Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare is reevaluating its policy after an MLK50-ProPublica investigation found that it had filed 8,300 lawsuits in the past five years, including against many of its own employees.

Local Reporting Network

Profiting from the Poor

Millionaire CEO of Nonprofit Hospital That Sues the Poor Promises Review of Policies

Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare promised a policy review after an investigation by MLK50 and ProPublica found it had sued 8,300 patients — including its own employees — over medical debt. Its CEO has not responded to our questions.

Local Reporting Network

Nonprofit Hospital Almost Never Gave Discounts to Poor Patients During Collections, Documents Show

Our Journalists Stopped Calling People Hard-to-Reach and Listened to Them. Here’s What Worked.

What It Looks Like When a Hospital We Investigated Erases $11.9 Million in Medical Debt

Sen. Chuck Grassley Wants a Hospital System That Sued Poor Patients to Explain Itself

This Doctors Group Is Owned by a Private Equity Firm and Repeatedly Sued the Poor Until We Called Them

Have You Been Sued by a Hospital, Doctor or Other Medical Institution? Tell Us About It.

Journalists, We’re Sharing Our Tips From Patients With Medical Debt. Want Them?

Thousands of Poor Patients Face Lawsuits From Nonprofit Hospitals That Trap Them in Debt

Stop Suing Patients, Advocates Advise Memphis Nonprofit Hospital System

Have You Been Sued by a Hospital, Doctor or Other Memphis Institution? Tell Us About It.

Low-Wage Workers Are Being Sued for Unpaid Medical Bills by a Nonprofit Christian Hospital That Employs Them

The Nonprofit Hospital That Makes Millions, Owns a Collection Agency and Relentlessly Sues the Poor

This Memphis Hospital System Flouts IRS Rules by Not Publicly Posting Financial Assistance Policies

How We Tallied Medical Debt Lawsuits and Wage Garnishments in Memphis