Chicago-based debt collector Accretive Health has agreed to a $2.5 million settlement with the office of Minnesota State Attorney General Lori Swanson and has been barred from contracting with Minnesota hospitals for at least two years.
After the two-year ban, Accretive will only be able to re-enter the state for the next four years if the attorney general agrees to a consent order allowing its business.
The settlements stems from Ms. Swanson's January lawsuit, which claimed the company violated state and federal health privacy laws and state debt collection laws. The suit was later amended to include allegations that Accretive engaged in aggressive collection practices in hospital emergency departments, such as embedding debt collectors among hospital staff and engaging hospital employees in debt collection.
"A hospital emergency room is a place of medical trauma and emotional suffering for patients and their families. It should be a solemn place, not a place for a financial shakedown of patients. It is good to close the door on this disturbing chapter in Minnesota healthcare," Attorney General Swanson said in the release.
In Minnesota, Accretive did business at Fairview hospitals, North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale, and Maple Grove (Minn.) Hospital.
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After the two-year ban, Accretive will only be able to re-enter the state for the next four years if the attorney general agrees to a consent order allowing its business.
The settlements stems from Ms. Swanson's January lawsuit, which claimed the company violated state and federal health privacy laws and state debt collection laws. The suit was later amended to include allegations that Accretive engaged in aggressive collection practices in hospital emergency departments, such as embedding debt collectors among hospital staff and engaging hospital employees in debt collection.
"A hospital emergency room is a place of medical trauma and emotional suffering for patients and their families. It should be a solemn place, not a place for a financial shakedown of patients. It is good to close the door on this disturbing chapter in Minnesota healthcare," Attorney General Swanson said in the release.
In Minnesota, Accretive did business at Fairview hospitals, North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale, and Maple Grove (Minn.) Hospital.
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