It really bothers me that none of these stories seem to describe what legal theories are used to enforce these fabricated "debts" against the victims. It would seem there must be a whole collection of state laws that enable these practices, and I would think they would be a prime area of reform - if they were eliminated, providers would have to publish prices and form an actual contract (including a lack of duress and well-defined consideration), instead of being able to play this game of "nobody can tell you how much anything costs until the billing extorts you".