Sen. Roger Marshall calls NYT report on patient lawsuits a political hit job; Democratic opponent's campaign disputes his account

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., characterized a New York Times investigation into his former OB-GYN practice as a "hit job" planted by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, making the allegation during an interview at the Republican National Committee midterm convention in Dallas. Marshall said the story resembled coverage from "the National Enquirer" and was "an article paid for by Chuck Schumer," without providing evidence for that characterization.

The Times report alleged that Marshall and his lawyers filed lawsuits against more than 700 patients with outstanding medical bills and charged an 18% annual interest rate — 50% higher than the statutory rate in Kansas, according to Hamilton's campaign. Of those patients, 81 were arrested for missing court dates. The outlet interviewed some of those who were arrested, including at least one woman who said she was arrested while struggling with payments after requesting a payment plan.

Marshall disputed the characterization of those practices. He said patients would not be sent to collections for nine months to a year, and that once accounts left his office, a third-party collection agency handled all further decisions. "Once they went to collections, I was never asked another — had nothing else to do with the process," Marshall said, adding that the agencies used were the same ones "most every other doctor and hospital in the region did as well." He also noted he was one of the few doctors in the area accepting Medicaid, that many patients traveled long distances to see him, and that his office wrote off many bills.