Marshall sued for imposing ‘insensitive and predatory’ 18% interest rate on medical debt in Kansas – Kansas Reflector

GREAT BEND — An usury class action lawsuit filed Thursday accuses U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall and his former Great Bend medical practice of routinely charging patients illegal interest rates on unpaid medical debts.

The lawsuit was filed in Barton County District Court in the final days of a bitter race between the Republican incumbent and Democrat Adam Hamilton, a Johnson County Methodist minister. This race could determine the balance of power in the U.S. Senate.

The New York Times in September reported that Marshall sued 700 of his patients for unpaid medical bills when he was an obstetrician-gynecologist. In 81 cases, patients were arrested for missing a court date.

One of the arrested patients, Meischa Zimmerman, appeared in a television commercial for Hamilton and is now the class action’s lead plaintiff.

The lawsuit alleges that Marshall and his practice, Heartland Regional OBGYN, routinely subject patients – many of whom are low-income, uninsured or underinsured mothers – to an “insensitive and predatory” debt collection system with illegal interest rates. It frequently assesses 18% annual interest, which exceeds the Kansas legal limit of 15%.

Zimmerman, a Marshall obstetrics patient in 2009, said the practice sued her over a $3,596 bill for delivering her child, plus an 18 percent annual interest rate. Collection efforts related to the usurious debt led to his arrest three times, according to the court filing.

Ellinwood attorney Kent Roth said the lawsuit stems from predatory billing against economically vulnerable patients.

“Obviously, I think a jury will place a monetary value on our complaint regarding the imposition of an 18 percent usury rate on medical debt, but I will let the legal document speak for itself,” Roth said.

He is serving as local counsel in the lawsuit, along with lead attorneys Edward F. Haber and Ian J. McLoughlin of the Boston firm Shapiro Haber & Urmy.

Marshall was contacted for a statement and declined to comment, referring questions to his communications team. Staff members did not immediately respond to emails sent Thursday evening.

Earlier this week, 750 healthcare professionals in Kansas signed a letter expressing concern over Marshall’s debt collection practices.

Thursday’s court filing asserts four causes of action: common law usury, violating Saudi Arabia 16-207which caps eligible interest at 15% per year; unjust enrichment by illegally retaining interest earned beyond legal limits; violation of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing: application of contractual provisions to collect excessive interest rates without disclosure; and breach of fiduciary duty by failing to act in the best interests of patients and failing to disclose that assessed interests exceeded state limits.

The lawsuit says many of Marshall’s patients did not have health insurance or had insurance with high deductibles and co-payments that did not pay all of the amounts Marshall billed them. Many would have had to “choose between paying medical bills or buying groceries.”

The lawsuit cites reporting from the New York Times article, as well as Kansas City Star reporting that no other regional medical practice charged comparable interest rates.

Addressing possible statute of limitations issues, the complaint states that the filing deadline was suspended due to “fraudulent concealment” by the defendants because patients only discovered the illegal nature of the rates through news reports in September and October 2026.

The plaintiffs seek certification of a class action, restitution, damages, and pre- and post-judgment interest, to be determined at a jury trial.

Born in El Dorado, Marshall earned his medical degree from the University of Kansas Medical School in 1987 and served seven years as a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve. He practiced as an obstetrician-gynecologist in Great Bend for more than 25 years.

In Congress, Marshall focused on agricultural and health policy, serving on key Senate committees including Agriculture, Finance, Budget, Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.