CMS regulators say Fairview Health Services' billing and collection tactics with Accretive Health violated federal patient protection laws, meaning the system could potentially be excluded from Medicare and Medicaid, according to a Minneapolis Star Tribune report.
CMS began investigating University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview, in May for possible violations of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which requires all hospitals with emergency departments participating in the Medicare program to provide care regardless of patients' ability to pay.
The probe followed Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson's lawsuit in late April against Accretive, the hospital's debt collection agency, for not protecting patient confidentiality.
Regulators said the billing practices at UMMC violated federal law. The investigators concluded the hospital repeatedly subjected patients and relatives to "abuse and harassment" during attempts to collect payment in the hospital's ED, labor and delivery area and other wards.
Despite the finding, a state official investigating on behalf of CMS said Fairview has ample time to take corrective action and avoid the ultimate penalty of Medicare-Medicaid exclusion.
"We are very concerned about the issues that came up and are working collaboratively with CMS to get them resolved," Carolyn Wilson, RN, president of UMMC, said in the report. In a statement, hospital officials said its ED has stopped collecting past-due balances, co-insurance payments and co-pays.
Chicago-based Accretive agreed to a $2.5 million settlement with Ms. Swanson's office in late July and was also banned from contracting with Minnesota hospitals for at least two years.
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CMS began investigating University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview, in May for possible violations of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which requires all hospitals with emergency departments participating in the Medicare program to provide care regardless of patients' ability to pay.
The probe followed Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson's lawsuit in late April against Accretive, the hospital's debt collection agency, for not protecting patient confidentiality.
Regulators said the billing practices at UMMC violated federal law. The investigators concluded the hospital repeatedly subjected patients and relatives to "abuse and harassment" during attempts to collect payment in the hospital's ED, labor and delivery area and other wards.
Despite the finding, a state official investigating on behalf of CMS said Fairview has ample time to take corrective action and avoid the ultimate penalty of Medicare-Medicaid exclusion.
"We are very concerned about the issues that came up and are working collaboratively with CMS to get them resolved," Carolyn Wilson, RN, president of UMMC, said in the report. In a statement, hospital officials said its ED has stopped collecting past-due balances, co-insurance payments and co-pays.
Chicago-based Accretive agreed to a $2.5 million settlement with Ms. Swanson's office in late July and was also banned from contracting with Minnesota hospitals for at least two years.
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