S.C. Law Allowing Your State Refund To Disappear

A South Carolina law originally written to help state and local governments collect debts is being used by some state hospitals to seize tax refunds from people with past-due medical bills.A report on the practice in Sunday's Post and Courier says much of the money flows to some of the region's largest health care companies. The newspaper reported that such health organizations took at least $92.9 million to pay off past-due medical bills in 2017. It also noted the burden the program can place on lower-income people with medical debts.Hartley Powell, director of the state Revenue Department said the program helps government entities ``better fund essential public services.'' And defenders of the program say it's a needed last resort for some hospitals to collect debts.