The court doesn't waste it's time; the company does. Furthermore, these sorts of bulk lawsuits can be used as scare tactics to scare up settlements. Obviously,

The court doesn't waste it's time; the company does. Furthermore, these sorts of bulk lawsuits can be used as scare tactics to scare up settlements. Obviously, prosecuting a lawsuit over a $2,700 debt makes no financial sense if you were to carry the lawsuit to completion. But it also makes no sense to defend against. Just settle. The vast majority of people do this and thus you can get lots of money by suing people this way. Indeed, they basically outright stated this: "As of January, the company has decided to take patients to court only if they make at least twice the federal poverty level — or about $52,000 annually for a family of four." In other words, they target people who are most likely to settle and pay up. (Bonus points: this is intended to sound exonerating, until you realize that there is no such thing as a "federal poverty level". $52,000 is dirt poor in New York City or San Francisco.)