ED collections are under scrutiny
ED collections are under scrutiny
Processes may need to change
The public’s awareness of the U.S. Senate investigation of Accretive Health, a debt collection company hired by a Minnesota hospital to do registration and upfront collections, has important implications for patient access departments, says Jessica Curtis, director of Boston-based Community Catalyst’s Hospital Accountability Project.
“They had a strategy that allowed them to collect a certain percentage more than their competitors. You can see from the hospital’s perspective lots of reasons why that would be attractive, but they got into trouble,” Curtis says.
Some of the allegations involve patients being asked for payment in the emergency department, including a patient who was asked for payment before she received a medical screening examination, and another patient who was asked to pay an outstanding bill when he came in for a scheduled appointment for an unrelated condition.
EMTALA is issue
As a result of the Accretive case, questions have been raised as to whether asking patients for upfront payment in EDs is a violation of federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) regulations because of its potential to adversely affect access to care, adds Curtis.
“The fact that there has been such a focus on upfront collection brought this issue to the attention of other policymakers,” she explains.
Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) introduced the End Debt Collector Abuse Act of 2012, which would amend the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to include medical debt. This act would apply to all hospitals and prohibit asking for payment upfront in EDs or in labor and delivery, says Curtis.
“The conversation is not over. It’s a hot potato of an issue,” she says. “This is an area where the law will continue to change over the next one or two years.”
The publics awareness of the U.S. Senate investigation of Accretive Health, a debt collection company hired by a Minnesota hospital to do registration and upfront collections, has important implications for patient access departments, says Jessica Curtis, director of Boston-based Community Catalysts Hospital Accountability Project.Subscribe Now for Access
You have reached your article limit for the month. We hope you found our articles both enjoyable and insightful. For information on new subscriptions, product trials, alternative billing arrangements or group and site discounts please call 800-688-2421. We look forward to having you as a long-term member of the Relias Media community.