Accretive Health Inc., one of the nation's largest medical collection agencies, has hired its second Washington-based lobby firm after coming under fire in a report released in April by the Minnesota attorney general's office for allegedly pressuring patients into settling debts, sometimes before they received care. The Chicago-based hospital billing company will retain The Duberstein Group in addition to its first firm, Heather Podesta + Partners.
The report stated that Accretive provided lengthy scripts that employees were told to follow to obtain credit card charges or cash payments before treatment at Fairview Health Services' network of seven hospitals in Minnesota (
Accretive employees allegedly pushed aggressive collection goals with incentives such as gift cards, the company's records revealed. The collection efforts targeted projected co-pays and deductibles for that day's visit or unpaid balances from previous treatments.
The company has consistently denied the allegations in the report, but drew criticism from several House and Senate Democrats nonetheless. "This is corporate greed at its worst, abuse of patients' rights to dignity and privacy, and, I believe, a possible violation of several laws," Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) said in a statement April 26. He called on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to investigate the company.
But Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel got involved on Accretive's behalf, asking Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson to "cease efforts to publicly prosecute" the firm in the media. The letter to Swanson said the company "does important things for hospitals and good things for our city." Accretive announced in May that it is spearheading a national effort to create voluntary standards for its industry.
Two former Senate majority leaders - Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) - as well as former Health and Human Services Secretaries Michael Leavitt and Donna Shalala will participate, according to a news release.
