The National Arbitration Forum Blog

In a three-part series recently published in the Baltimore Sun, reporters Fred Schulte and James Drew take a look at the 132,000 lawsuits filed in the last five year by Maryland hospitals. Not surprisingly they found, among other things, that:

Lawsuits are confusing to patients – "The court processes can overwhelm debtors, who rarely have lawyers to assist them and often don't even try to defend themselves."

Courts are overwhelmed – "Daniel L. Hatcher, an assistant professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law, said debt collection cases of all types are 'completely overwhelming' the district courts. 'Even the best judge won't have the resources to give each case justice,' he said."

Arbitration provides a ready solution to both of these problems. Arbitration, under a contractual agreement to arbitrate, is both accessible (fees are low, proceedings are flexible, process is straightforward) and patient-friendly (patients will not be overwhelmed by arcane procedures and can assert claims and defenses in their own words if they are not represented by a lawyer).

In addition, healthcare arbitration relieves overburdened and underfunded court systems. Arbitrators have clear dockets and sufficient time to thoroughly review each case to determine which party should prevail under the applicable law.