Washington State

Office of the Attorney General

Attorney General

Bob Ferguson

SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced today that debt collection agency Harris & Harris will pay his office $1 million to resolve a lawsuit, which asserted the company unlawfully collected medical payments from more than 160,000 Washington patients without providing them with disclosures about their rights when faced with medical debt. By excluding those disclosures, Harris & Harris created barriers that kept patients from learning about and accessing financial assistance on their hospital bills.   
SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced today that Providence, one of the nation’s largest health care systems, must forgive more than $137 million in medical debt and refund more than $20 million to patients the company billed for services despite knowing they likely qualified for free or reduced-cost health care. The $157.8 million resolution will provide full refunds, plus interest, and debt forgiveness for 99,446 individuals. It is the largest resolution of its kind in the country. 
OLYMPIA — Today, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson is leading a coalition of 20 attorneys general to file legal arguments in a lawsuit challenging Idaho’s restrictive law making it a crime for adults to help minors travel out-of-state for abortion care.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced today that a federal judge in Spokane barred the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) from doing anything to reduce the availability of the medication abortion drug mifepristone in Washington, 16 other states and the District of Columbia. The states sued the FDA over access to the drug.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced today he is leading a multistate federal lawsuit against the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) accusing it of singling out one of the two drugs used for medication abortions for excessively burdensome regulation, despite ample evidence that the drug is safer than Tylenol.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced today that health care providers, seekers, and helpers in Washington have a new avenue to obtain pro bono legal assistance to facilitate abortion access.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson, the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and the Washington Health Care Authority announced today that a federal appeals court has reversed a last-minute Trump Administration decision to deny Medicaid funding for Dental Health Aide Therapists in Washington tribal communities.
SPOKANE — Today the Washington Attorney General announced the filing of charging documents in Spokane County Superior Court filing numerous felony charges against Paul Means and his business, Abilia Healthcare.
SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general to file a friend of the court brief supporting the U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit challenging Idaho’s restrictive new abortion law. The law is set to go into effect later this month.
OLYMPIA — Starting tomorrow, 4 million Washingtonians will qualify for free or discounted care at hospitals across Washington as a result of legislation requested by Attorney General Bob Ferguson.

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