Profiting From the Poor

Inside Memphis’ Debt Machine

An investigation into what keeps poor people poor in a city where wages are low.

Impact of Our Reporting

What Happens After a Debt Collection Machine Grinds to a Halt

by Wendi C. Thomas, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism

October 2, 2020, 6:00 am EDT

We Reported on a Nonprofit Hospital System That Sues Poor Patients. It Just Freed Thousands From Debt.

by Wendi C. Thomas, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism

September 24, 2019, 5:30 pm EDT

“Humbled”: Nonprofit Christian Hospital Dials Back Aggressive Debt Collection and Raises Wages After Our Investigation

by Wendi C. Thomas and Deborah Douglas, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism

July 30, 2019, 6:28 pm EDT

Nonprofit Christian Hospital Suspends Debt Collection Lawsuits Amid Furor Over Suing Its Own Employees

by Wendi C. Thomas, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism

July 3, 2019, 10:01 am EDT

Millionaire CEO of Nonprofit Hospital That Sues the Poor Promises Review of Policies

by Wendi C. Thomas, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism

July 1, 2019, 6:13 pm EDT

16 stories published since 2019

Nonprofit Hospital Almost Never Gave Discounts to Poor Patients During Collections, Documents Show

by Wendi C. Thomas, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism

December 4, 2020, 1:30 pm EST
Our Journalists Stopped Calling People Hard-to-Reach and Listened to Them. Here’s What Worked.

by Beena Raghavendran and Maya Miller, ProPublica, with Wendi C. Thomas, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism

December 30, 2019, 1:17 pm EST
What It Looks Like When a Hospital We Investigated Erases $11.9 Million in Medical Debt

by Wendi C. Thomas, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism

December 24, 2019, 6:00 am EST
Sen. Chuck Grassley Wants a Hospital System That Sued Poor Patients to Explain Itself

by Wendi C. Thomas, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism

December 10, 2019, 6:00 am EST
This Doctors Group Is Owned by a Private Equity Firm and Repeatedly Sued the Poor Until We Called Them

by Wendi C. Thomas, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, with Maya Miller, Beena Raghavendran and Doris Burke, ProPublica

November 27, 2019, 1:00 pm EST
Thousands of Poor Patients Face Lawsuits From Nonprofit Hospitals That Trap Them in Debt

by Maya Miller and Beena Raghavendran

September 13, 2019, 5:00 am EDT
Stop Suing Patients, Advocates Advise Memphis Nonprofit Hospital System

by Wendi C. Thomas, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism

July 30, 2019, 1:00 pm EDT
Low-Wage Workers Are Being Sued for Unpaid Medical Bills by a Nonprofit Christian Hospital That Employs Them

by Wendi C. Thomas, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism

June 28, 2019, 7:00 am EDT
The Nonprofit Hospital That Makes Millions, Owns a Collection Agency and Relentlessly Sues the Poor

by Wendi C. Thomas, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism

June 27, 2019, 6:00 am EDT
This Memphis Hospital System Flouts IRS Rules by Not Publicly Posting Financial Assistance Policies

by Wendi C. Thomas, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism

June 27, 2019, 5:59 am EDT
How We Tallied Medical Debt Lawsuits and Wage Garnishments in Memphis

by Wendi C. Thomas, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, and Lylla Younes and Doris Burke, ProPublica

June 27, 2019, 5:59 am EDT

Featured Posts in this Series

Impact of Our Reporting

Journalism That Holds Power to Account