Debt collectors embedded in hospital emergency rooms demand payment before treatment.

[salvorhardin]

The tactics, like embedding debt collectors as employees in emergency rooms and demanding that patients pay before receiving treatment, were outlined in hundreds of company documents released by the attorney general. And they cast a spotlight on the increasingly desperate strategies among hospitals to recoup payments as their unpaid debts mount.

To patients, the debt collectors may look indistinguishable from hospital employees, may demand they pay outstanding bills and may discourage them from seeking emergency care at all, even using scripts like those in collection boiler rooms, according to the documents and employees interviewed by The New York Times.

In some cases, the company’s workers had access to health information while persuading patients to pay overdue bills, possibly in violation of federal privacy laws, the documents indicate.

Full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/25/business/debt-collector-is-faulted-for-tough-tactics-in-hospitals.html?pagewanted=all

[tk2kewl]

1. truest form of vulture capitalism

[xchrom]

2. Du rec. Nt

[Egalitarian Thug]

3. K&R. n/t

[Romulox]

4. Don't worry, once we all have "access to health insurance", we'll get the debt collectors blessings

to receive care! They'll be nice to us, then...

[RockaFowler]

5. It's an ongoing issue

My husband was in the Emergency Room waiting for a good 4 hours for someone to even see him. When we went to the Triage area, there was a person there who wanted all of our insurance information (before my husband even saw anyone). She asked us for the $100 payment for the Emergency Room before a doctor would even see him. My husband was doubled over in pain and all she was worried about was the money. Oh and the stupid doctor told us that my husband looked like he needed his appendix taken out. Really?? You can tell that before you even do any tests?? I laughed at it and the doctor told me I was silly. I told him to leave my husband pronto - my husband had his appendix taken out when he was 18. If he wanted to do any bedside diagnosis, he should really read his chart first. Oh yeah and tell the woman who was so insistent on payment to get us a real doctor

[Snake Alchemist]

7. Hilarious! nt

[salvorhardin]

10. Heh. That reminds me...

Heh. Reminds me of the time when I spent almost twenty minutes arguing with a doctor about whether or not I still had my gall bladder. He kept insisting I had it removed, while I countered that no, I was pretty sure I'd remember having abdominal surgery. Finally I snapped, yelled at him to just read my f*ing chart that he had right beside him, but hadn't even glanced at, then stormed out. Unbelievable!

[RockaFowler]

12. I don't get it

Look we have a chart for a reason. If you just read it without giving your own opinion, you might be able to fix my problem.

There is no more Customer Service in the medical field. I know it used to be better. I'm not sure what happened.

[Lost-in-FL]

22. There shouldn't be a 'Customer Service' in any facility.

Hospitals are now trying to treat people as customers when in reality our goal as healthcare professionals is to heal. The Medical Industrial Complex is trying miserably to sell compassion by cathering to certain segments with feel good billboards that mean nothing when you get to the hospital and have no insurance. This is making it so much easier to 'desensitize' or dehumanize care and people w/o insurance. Health shouldn't be an entitlement and patients shouldn't be customers.

[blueamy66]

15. just went through a similar experience

had to pay the $125 and sign paperwork before my guy could see a doctor.....once that was done, though, the care was excellent

hmmmm

[CoffeeCat]

31. That happened to us too!!

Our 12 year old daughter broke her ankle snowboarding, and as we entered the ER, we were stopped by someone at a desk. She had to get proof of insurance and our $100 ER co-pay before we could get my daughter a wheelchair!

It's fricking inhumane and vile that health care in this country is all about profits!

[WI_DEM]

6. that's against the law here. Patient has to receive care before anybody can discuss

anything regarding finances with a patient in the ER.

[RockaFowler]

8. Florida hates patients

That's why it's pay first here. Doesn't matter if we even get good service. You already paid for the crap!!

[KamaAina]

21. It's against the law everywhere

Ms. Swanson said that the hounding of patients violated the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, a federal law requiring hospitals to provide emergency health care regardless of citizenship, legal status or ability to pay.

The problem, of course, is that Accretive is a big corporation, so the law doesn't apply to them.

[cyglet]

23. the problem

Is it isn't enforced.

[Nye Bevan]

9. Disgusting. (nt)

[hobbit709]

11. I had a hospital claim I owed them $500 once.

Major go-round
what happened was they sent the bill to the wrong insurance company-who of course denied it.
I called them and said they needed to submit it to the right insurance company and it wold get paid. They said I had to do it because they didn't resubmit. I told them if i had to do their legwork, i would bill them for my time in doing so and it would be equal or greater than the money they wanted from me. They said they wouldn't pay if I did so I said then I'll turn it over to a collection agency just like they threatened me with.
I said they had 3 options: 1. Resubmit to the proper insurance. 2. Write it off or 3. Pay me to do their work.
A month later I got a letter from my insurance company saying it was paid.

[RoccoR5955]

16. Sometimes, that's the only thing to do.

Not just with healthcare, but all the other vultures who want to soak you for a buck. As soon as they find out that they will have to pay when you do some sort of thing that they really should do, they back off.

[Scuba]

33. +1

[coalition_unwilling]

13. Neo-Dickensian. (Not sure such a word exists but, hey,

Charles Dickens is positively spinning in his grave at this story.)

[Hawkowl]

19. I like it!

We can call the adherents to this school of thought "Neo-Dickheads"!

[coalition_unwilling]

39. Hah! I like the cut of your jib! :) - n/t

[ck4829]

36. It should be

Between Cynthia "hunger is a great motivator" Davis and "We're all going to have to make some sacrifices... well, except for the rich who get more now" we have something going on, and if it is not Neo-Dickensian, then I don't know what is.

(Oh, And Dickensian IS a word that means something suggestive of the poor social conditions and comically repulsive characters and events commonly found in his books. So slap a "neo" on it, and you would have today.)

[coalition_unwilling]

38. Thanks for that vote of confidence in my neologism :) I had been using

Dickens' "Hard Times" as my analogue for today's world, but after I saw that Repukes plan to kick 280,000 children off the free school lunch program, I think I'll instead use "A Tale of Two Cities". You know, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of time . . . "

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002612135

[RegieRocker]

14. That is capitalism for ya.

[shcrane71]

17. I keep getting recharged by medical professionals.

The optometrist sent me a bill after I asked if there were going to be any more expense. I should have gotten that in writing. I had proof that I already paid a medical bill with a physician (it was on my credit card statement), and they billed me again... for the same amount.

My sister was billed 1500.00 a year after she had a surgery. They said that she changed her address. My sister is a nurse, and worked for that hospital system. They should have had her address.

I've heard from several friends who were told if they left that particular hospital without their doctors signing off on their leaving, then their insurance wouldn't pay for any of the medical stay or treatments.

Almost everyone I know who has privately held insurance does everything he or she can to avoid going to the doctor because they've been harassed with surprise bills.

[Blaq Dem]

18. If the patient ends up dying, how do they collect the debt then?

I don't debt collectors can get much from a corpse. Some people just don't have a conscious. One of capitalism's finest moments. Make sure this story goes international.

[salvorhardin]

20. Neither a conscience or a brain apparently

They want to scare people into debt peonage. The debt collection laws really need to be overhauled in this country. It's gotten completely out of hand. Debt collectors allowed in emergency rooms, sometimes posing as medical professionals, and with access to patient medical records? F*in scandalous.

[thelordofhell]

24. That one's easy

They won't release the body to the family until the debt is paid.

[Doctor_J]

41. I'm sure the insurance lobby has paid for a law that lets them

pursue the descendants.

[eppur_se_muova]

25. UPDATE: Fairview Health breaks with debt collector after Minn. attorney general alleges violations

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=606170

[LuckyLib]

27. Minnesotans need to vote with their feet and refuse

treatment or surgery at Fairview hospitals. But let them know about it in writing. Let them know that illegal and predatory behavior costs them patients.

[azurnoir]

29. Not good enough IMO

Fairview needs to be seriously taken to task over this they broke the law and allowed a third party collection agency access to HIPAA protected patient information, which BTW was stolen via a laptop computer in a car belonging to one Accretive Health's employee's that in and of itself should result in fines and possibly patient lawsuits
also and unfortunately Fairview now works in conjunction with U of M medical and if you use U of M you will be double billed and the routine office visit that used to cost your $20 to $30 co-pay can end up costing $150-$200 !

[dkf]

26. Two of our local hospitals went bankrupt and closed their doors.

As a result there is a shortage of hospital beds and ambulances are being turned away.

The community ended up losing timely medical care and jobs because the hospital could not pay its own debts.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

32. Sounds like they were poorly managed. Maybe the CEO was stealing.

[Scuba]

34. Too bad we don't have Medicare for All. That would have saved those hospitals....

... assuming they were worth saving. What hospitals were they?

[Boudica the Lyoness]

28. How's that American revolution working for you now?

Bloody hell...

[Dont call me Shirley]

30. The medical debt collectors and the owners/ceos of profit hospitals are the ones who are truly sick

inhumane, noncompassionate and seeking to make ill patients even sicker through financial stress. After all it's more $$$ for them and their unholy stockholders. This US medical industrial complex is without healthy morals. More sickness for the masses more $$$ for the owner/execs.

[ck4829]

35. "look indistinguishable from hospital employees" Isn't that illegal?

[rustydog]

37. I kind of doubt the "demand" part. In a hospital ER, you cannot be denied care due to lack of money

I do know people do ask for credit cards, cash, what can you pay today...but they do not demand pay before receiving care. They are given information on how to apply for assistance if rthey cannot pay their bills....

[Doctor_J]

40. The Greatest Health Care In The World!!!

Beck told me so