Medical Bill Collections Continue Despite Lockdown

On March 24, 2020, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services issued a “Safer at Home” order in an effort to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus.  The order mandated the cessation of all non-essential businesses and activities. On Friday, April 3, Governor Evers also banned foreclosures and eviction proceedings. The business closures have resulted in a huge spike of unemployment claims as affected employees have been laid off.  Imagine the surprise, then, to a recently jobless care worker when she had a process server knock on her door, to serve her with a summons to small claims court over an unpaid medical bill. That scene has repeated itself across the state, as Wisconsin Center for Investigative Reporter Bram Sable-Smith recently discovered.