Tuesday's Number: $174,168

Tuesday is the day my local paper, the Syracuse Post-Standard, publishes the weekly business section. In addition to special features, tips from stock experts, budgeting advice and the like, we get the judgment and bankruptcy listings. 

As I did for much of last year, I will be tracking health care related filings. I include anything that is clearly a debt owed to a hospital, nursing home, physician or physician group, medical supplier, and so on; I do not include filings by insurance companies, many of which are so diversified it would not be a fair assumption that the filing is related to medical care or health insurance. 

This week is fascinating. Most likely either due to a timing issue, a space issue or some other clerical issue, there were no people were listed with new judgments to hospitals, doctors, or other medical providers.  There was, however, a judgment filed by a person’s estate against a local hospital, totaling $164,256.

This week, there were five listings for satisfied judgments totaling $174,168 to a hospital, doctor, or other medical provider.  This is the only time since I started tracking these numbers that the judgments satisfied has outpaced the judgments filed. 

And this week, there were no health-care related bankruptcies listed. 

The paper publishes only those accounts of at least $5,000.