Norton County Hospital to participate in Kansas’ Setoff Program
January 2017
As of December 2016, Norton County Hospital would like to inform patients that it has signed an agreement to participate in the voluntary State of Kansas Department of Administration’s Setoff Program in an attempt to collect on debt owed to the hospital and clinic. This program allows the state to set away monies to pay toward debts owed to municipalities, such as the Norton County Hospital.
The following steps will occur as part of the hospital’s participation:
- The hospital will immediately begin selecting debtor accounts, fairly large in dollar value, that it has already turned over to a collections agency and that the collection agency is getting minimal payment toward.
- These selected accounts will be submitted to the Setoff Program, which will monitor payments the debtor is scheduled to receive from the State of Kansas.
- The State of Kansas will begin to withhold those payments to pay off the debt owed to the hospital. Payments from the State subject to withholding are State of Kansas wages, individual income tax refunds, KPERS distributions, unclaimed property, Homestead tax refunds and miscellaneous payments such as lottery winnings. It’s important to note that all debtors will be given notice ahead of time that a withholding will take place.
People with questions should go online to the Setoff Program website or call the program’s office at 785-296-4628. Questions can also be directed to Patient Accounts at Norton County Hospital, which can be reached by calling 785-877-3351.