18% Interest Charged on Kansas Medical Debt Exceeds 15% State Cap, Lawsuit Says

A class action complaint filed Thursday alleges that U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall and his former Great Bend practice assessed annual interest at 18% on unpaid medical bills, exceeding the Kansas statutory limit of 15%. The filing names Heartland Regional OBGYN as a defendant alongside Marshall.

The complaint was submitted to Barton County District Court as the incumbent Republican's race against Democrat Adam Hamilton, a Methodist minister from Johnson County, nears its close. The contest will help determine the balance of power in the U.S. Senate.

Meischa Zimmerman, a patient of Marshall's obstetrics practice in 2009, is the lead plaintiff. Court documents state that the practice sued her over a $3,596 bill for her child's delivery and applied an 18% annual rate. The filing further asserts that collection activity tied to the debt resulted in her arrest on three separate occasions.

According to the complaint, Marshall routinely subjected patients to debt collection practices at the 18% rate. Many of those patients, the filing states, lacked health insurance or carried policies with deductibles and co-pays that did not cover the amounts charged. The document notes that some patients had to decide between paying medical bills or buying groceries.

The filing cites New York Times reporting from September that Marshall sued 700 patients for unpaid medical bills during his time as an OB-GYN. That reporting also indicated patients were arrested in 81 instances after missing court dates. The complaint additionally references Kansas City Star reporting that no other regional medical practices charged comparable interest rates.

Kent Roth, an Ellinwood attorney serving as local counsel, said the case addresses billing practices directed at economically vulnerable patients. "Obviously, I think a jury will place a dollar value on our complaint over charging 18% usury rate on medical debt, but I will let the legal document speak for itself," Roth said. Lead counsel for the plaintiffs are Edward F. Haber and Ian J. McLoughlin of the Boston firm Shapiro Haber & Urmy.

The complaint asserts four causes of action: common law usury under K.S.A 16-207, unjust enrichment, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and breach of fiduciary duty. Regarding the statute of limitations, the filing argues the deadline was paused due to "fraudulent concealment" by the defendants, stating patients only learned the rates were illegal through news reports in September and October 2026.

Marshall declined to comment and referred questions to his communications team, which had not responded to emails sent Thursday night. Earlier in the week, 750 medical professionals in Kansas signed a letter expressing concern over his debt collection practices.

Marshall earned his medical degree from the University of Kansas School of Medicine in 1987 and practiced as an OB-GYN in Great Bend for more than 25 years. In Congress, he serves on the Senate Agriculture, Finance, Budget, and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committees.

Plaintiffs are seeking class certification, restitution, damages, and pre- and post-judgment interest to be determined at a jury trial.