Corewell Health Sued For Balance Billing

Additional details of this story from MLive:

https://www.mlive.com/news/2026/06/corewell-health-accused-of-collecting-fake-medical-debt-in-class-action-lawsuit.html

Corewell Health accused of collecting ‘fake’ medical debt in class-action lawsuit
By Rose White | June 23, 2026

When Jordan Field, 32, stopped breathing during a sedated oral surgery on March 18, 2024, he was rushed to the intensive care unit at Corewell Health Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids because his brain was not getting enough oxygen.

He died three days later.

Over the next few months, Corewell Health negotiated a $61,609 bill with Field’s health insurance provider, Blue Cross Blue Shield, according to court records. The Grand Rapids-based hospital system agreed to accept a reduced amount of $19,448 that would fully cover the emergency services.

Despite that, Corewell Health still sent a bill of $42,160 to Field’s estate.

A newly filed class-action lawsuit that details Field’s experience argues “the debt was fake.”

The complaint was filed by Michelle Rzanca, a representative of Field’s estate, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan at the end of May.

It claims Corewell Health and DCM Services LLC, a collection agency, have engaged in a “systematic practice” of collecting medical debts that are not legally owed.

“Upon information and belief, Corewell Health routinely refers fake balance billing debts to debt collectors,” the complaint says, “to demand money from patients, deceased patients estates and guarantors.”

Corewell Health and DCM Services each did not respond to a request for comment.

The focus of the lawsuit is a practice known as “balance billing.” This is when a patient gets charged for the difference between the hospital’s total bill and what gets covered by health insurance.

But when hospitals provide emergency services, they negotiate with insurers on what the final bill will be, according to the complaint. That’s partly because a federal law enacted in 2022 doesn’t allow “surprise billing” for out-of-network costs in an emergency.

Hospitals often then agree, under a contract, to accept a reduced payment from insurance companies, Medicare or Medicaid that will cover the entire bill, the lawsuit says.

The complaint alleges Corewell Health is demanding balances from patients that are “fake, invalid and not legally owed” because it already accepted an adjusted payment from insurance companies.

It then refers that “fake debt” to collection agencies, like DCM Services.

Rob Buchanan, an attorney representing Rzanca and Field’s estate, says the “debt does not exist” because the bill was fully covered under the contract between the hospital and the insurance provider.

“You shouldn’t, after having receiving those services, then get a bill in the mail from Corewell saying, ‘Your insurance company paid this, but the retail value of those services was actually higher than that. So, we’re going to hold you responsible for the difference,” he said.

In Field’s case, Corewell Health agreed to accept $19,448 from Blue Cross Blue Shield, according to the lawsuit. But after his estate was created, Corewell Health “falsely represented” that Field still owed thousands of dollars, the lawsuit alleges.

It then sent a letter to the Field estate saying “the balance is your responsibility.”

Another letter from Corewell dated Oct. 24, 2025 extended condolences, saying “we recognize the weight of your loss and extend our sympathies to your family,” court records show. It then said the estate may hear from DCM Services, a debt collection agency, about any “outstanding balance.”

Since then, DCM Services has continued to contact the Field estate “trying to collect a debt due from the assets of the estate,” court documents say. It most recently issued an April letter that offered three payment options.

Buchanan says people who get hit with these notices often don’t realize the debt is “not legitimate.”

“Their estate pays the money because they don’t know that is not a real debt,” he said. “That’s my real concern.”

The Field estate is involved in a separate wrongful death claim against the oral surgery’s office. That case is set to go to trial this fall.

The medical debt lawsuit is seeking class-action status, claiming this “unlawful practice” has affected patients across Corewell Health’s 21 Michigan hospitals who paid money they did not owe.

Corewell and DCM Services are expected to respond to the lawsuit in court by early July.