U.S. Senator Roger Marshall faces a class action lawsuit filed Thursday by a former patient of his medical practice, who alleges that the lawmaker charged unlawful interest rates on unpaid medical bills. The litigation places renewed scrutiny on the Kansas Republican’s long career as an obstetrician-gynecologist and his history of aggressive debt collection practices.
Meischa Zimmerman, who was previously arrested after missing a court date tied to her outstanding medical debt, serves as a lead plaintiff in the case. According to the complaint, Marshall’s former practice, Heartland Regional OBGYN, systematically targeted low-income and uninsured mothers through what the lawsuit describes as callous and predatory collection tactics. The filing specifically accuses the clinic of assessing an annual interest rate of up to 18% on past-due balances, which exceeds the 15% limit permitted under Kansas state law.
During his 25 years practicing medicine before entering politics, Marshall filed lawsuits against more than 700 patients to recover unpaid medical debt. Records show that approximately 81 of those patients were subsequently arrested after failing to appear at required court hearings.
Attorney Kent Roth, representing the plaintiffs, indicated that the financial damages would ultimately be decided by a jury. “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.
Steven Johnson, the attorney who previously handled debt collection actions on behalf of Marshall’s practice, defended the procedures in prior statements, noting that such measures reflected standard practice within the state. “Generally, at the time of services for all our clients if they were not paid up front, the Debtor agreed to an 18 percent interest rate,” Johnson said.
The legal challenge arrives as Marshall campaigns for reelection. His challenger in the race is Democrat Adam Hamilton, a Methodist minister.
