FERRIDAY, La. – Plagued by patients who don’t pay their hospital bills, Riverland Medical Center has begun taking its case to court.

Last week the hospital — or more precisely a collection agency hired by the hospital — filed lawsuits against about 80 people who owe the hospital money.

Vernon Stevens Jr., administrator at Riverland, said although the number of cases filed all at once is high, the problem is one the hospital faces each day.

&uot;If I’m running a grocery store and a guy comes in and can’t pay for the groceries I can simply restock my shelves,&uot;&160;Stevens said. &uot;But in the hospital business, if a person comes in the emergency room, you have to treat them — you have no choice — whether they can pay or not.&uot;

Stevens said the cases filed last week were turned over to a new collection agency.

&uot;Instead of sending an attorney in from out of town to do a few each week, (the agency) did all of them at once,&uot; he said. &uot;Evidently (the agency) is more aggressive than some others.&uot;

Stevens said the hospital has to pursue every account equally in an effort to keep the hospital’s costs down.

&uot;One of the things that raises health costs besides all of the litigation going on is unpaid bills,&uot; Stevens said. &uot;The more you can collect from everyone, the lower you can keep your costs.&uot;

Since the matter is handled in civil court, defendants don’t face jail time, but they do face a stain on their credit report.

&uot;You can’t put somebody in jail for owing money,&uot;&160;said Clyde Ray Webber, Concordia Parish Clerk of Courts, explaining that defendants normally have 10 days to answer the claims.

&uot;If they don’t answer, they’ll take a preliminary default,&uot; Webber explained. &uot;The attorney then goes to court and asks for judgment. If no one comes forth, the judgment will go on their record.

&uot;Then if they go to buy a truck or a house, it shows up on the credit record,&uot; he said. &uot;Sooner or later, usually they’ll want something bad enough to come in and get it settled.&uot;

And once the court rules on the matter, the amount continues to grow.

&uot;It starts drawing interest at the legal rate,&uot; Webber explained.

Billy Rucker, assistant administrator and accounts receivable collections manager at Riverland, said the mess could have easily been avoided.

&uot;I’d love for people to pay their bills when they come through the front door, but they don’t,&uot; Rucker said.