Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall Denies NYT Allegations of Patient Lawsuits

Sen. Roger Marshall from Kansas faced a fiery new battle just as he sought his second term. A explosive story in The New York Times claimed he sued over 700 patients for unpaid medical bills. Some of those people went to court and even ended up arrested. Marshall told Fox News Digital this was not the truth. He called it a political hit job planted by top Democrats.

"I think that Kansans look at a story like this and realize it's from something like the National Enquirer," Marshall said during an event in Dallas. "That this is totally a hit job by left media, an article paid for by Chuck Schumer." The Senate Minority Leader mentioned was Chuck Schumer of New York.

Marshall helped found Great Bend Regional Hospital before running for Congress in 2016. His group ran the Heartland Regional OB-GYN practice until then. The report alleged his team charged an 18% annual interest rate on old debts. They also said Marshall filed lawsuits against patients who could not pay.

Tyson Brody spoke for Adam Hamilton, the Democratic nominee running against him. "Roger Marshall's own lawyer said Roger Marshall specifically requested an 18% interest rate," Brody stated to Fox News Digital. That rate was 50% higher than what Kansas law allowed. The claims included seeking arrest warrants and garnishing wages from new mothers.

One woman in the report tried to set up a payment plan. She was pressed to pay everything at once instead. Another patient said she struggled with payments while arrested for missing a court date. Tyson Brody noted these details were confirmed by Marshall's own legal team.

"I would never want anyone to be arrested because of money that they owe myself or the hospital," Marshall replied during his interview. He argued he had standard policies in place. "Once they went to collections, I was never asked another, had nothing else to do with the process." He insisted these were professional companies handling the collection work.

Marshall noted many patients came from other cities because he accepted Medicaid. It usually took nine months or a year before any agency got involved. When that happened, they used the same firm most other doctors in the region did. "They were all standard practices," he argued.

"My golden rule with my office manager is, look, if a person's making a payment of $5 a month, that's fine," Marshall said. Communication was key to him. If someone missed one date but talked about it, they stayed on the books. "So only a very small, small, small fraction of the unpaid bills even went to collections," he continued. Once outside his office, he claimed he had no control over their decisions.

The report arrives as Marshall fights for re-election in ruby-red Kansas. He faces Adam Hamilton, who leads the largest United Methodist congregation in the country. A spokesperson for Hamilton highlighted allegations that a woman requested a plan but was forced to pay full amount immediately. Another reported being arrested while struggling with payments.

Tyson Brody asked Senator Marshall to explain why he sued a woman who claimed he charged her for his own mistakes. He also questioned jailing patients for small debts like $115. Though Kansas remains favored for GOP control, Vice President JD Vance stumped for Marshall last week. The stakes are high in this tightening race.

J.D. Vance spoke highly of Doc Marshall, calling him a trusted ally to President Donald Trump and key to rolling out his agenda. The praise cut short when a protester jumped in to reference a report from The New York Times. "Now, this guy... I'm telling you, ladies and gentlemen, here's what happened is he decided to come in and lie about my very dear friend Doc Marshall," Vance stated. He added that the reality shows Doc Marshall has stood up for everyday Americans every single day he served in the United States Senate.

Back in Dallas before Vance took the stage, Marshall insisted his office operated above board. He questioned how The New York Times painted the events. "Look, I'm not even gonna give The New York Times the honor of me reading their article," Marshall said. "But I just think that I trust our judges a lot more than what they're describing there." His point was clear: Our judges wouldn't do what they're describing in that article. There had to be something else going on.

"So it's just amazing to me," he continued, highlighting the sheer scale of his work. "Here, I'm the only OB-GYN in the middle of 60,000 people on call every night." He did not get a night off for nearly 30 years. Take so many people we gave pre-care to and there's so many bills that we just wrote off as well. So he thinks this is very much a mischaracterization of the whole process.