Utah

#HospitalFails

While nonprofit hospitals are organized as charities to deliver affordable health care to those in their communities who need it most, many of America’s largest nonprofits are making big money from questionable practices. Nonprofit hospitals around the country are paying executives exorbitant salaries and adopting policies that put profits over patients, like pursuing predatory collection practices and failing to provide free care for qualifying low-income patients. Too often, these policies are combined with poor health care outcomes for patients.

Last updated: June 25, 2025 at 4:54am

Hospital Collection Policies

Four of five Utah hospitals investigated by KHN from November 2021 to December 2022 have policies allowing them to sue patients or take other legal actions to collect medical bills. Those same four hospitals have policies allowing them to deny non-emergency medical care to patients who owe them money.¹

Medical Debt and Consumer Protections

Utah’s consumer protection policies for medical debt are rated as “POOR.” For example, Utah law:

Does not prohibit the selling of medical debt.
Does not prohibit hospitals from seizing a patient’s bank account to collect an unpaid medical bill.
Does not require hospitals and other healthcare providers to establish charity-care policies or to notify patients of whatever charity care policies they have before collecting payment.
Does not require hospitals to offer a reasonable payment plan before sending a bill to collections.²

The Burden of Medical Debt in Utah

In Utah, an average of 7.2% of adults in a given year (or 160,000 people) reported having medical debt, according to a Peterson-KFF analysis of data from 2019 to 2021.³

Price Transparency

A survey of 2,000 hospitals nationwide from July to November 2024 found that 13 out of 33 Utah hospitals – just 39% – had complied with federal regulations requiring all hospitals to post their prices online and make them easily accessible and searchable.⁴

Hospital Overcharging

On average, from 2020 to 2022, Utah hospitals charged privately insured patients more than 216% of what they charged Medicare patients for the same services.⁵

Grade: #HospitalFail

National Public Radio, “Investigation: Many U.S. hospitals sue patients for debts or threaten their credit,” December 2022, https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/12/21/1144491711/investigation-many-u-s-hospitals-sue-patients-for-debts-or-threaten-their-credit
Innovation for Justice, University of Arizona and the University of Utah, “Medical Debt Policy Scorecard,” October 2021, https://www.medicaldebtpolicyscorecard.org/state/UT
Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, “Access & Affordability: The Burden of Medical Debt in the United States,” February 2024, https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/the-burden-of-medical-debt-in-the-united-states/
PatientRightsAdvocate.org, “Seventh Semi-Annual Hospital Price Transparency Compliance Report,” November 2024, https://www.patientrightsadvocate.org/seventh-semi-annual-hospital-price-transparency-report-november-2024, pg. 28
Rand Corporation, “Prices Paid to Hospitals by Private Health Plans: Findings from Round 5 of an Employer-Led Transparency Initiative,” May 2024, https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1144-2.html

Consumers for Quality Care (CQC) is a coalition of advocates and former policymakers working to provide a voice for patients in the health care debate as they demand better care. CQC is led by a board of directors that includes the Honorable Donna Christensen, physician and former Member of Congress; Jim Manley, former senior advisor to Senators Edward Kennedy and Harry Reid; Jason Resendez, community advocate and health care strategist; and Mary L. Smith, former CEO of the Indian Health Service.