NBC's Mike Taibbi investigates claims from a number of Minnesota patients that, in the midst of their medical emergency, they were approached and asked for payment. The claims sparked Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson to investigate the payment practices at a group of hospitals in the state.
By NBC's Mike Taibbi and msnbc.com staff
Hospital patients have been asked to pay for treatment even when "drugged up" with "tubes in my nose," NBC's Rock Center with Brian Williams reported on Thursday.
With hospitals coping with $40 billion worth of uncompensated care, a firm called Accretive Health claims it can "more than double a hospital's operating margin" -- partly by improving collection rates.
However, Minnesota State Attorney General Lori Swanson has filed a lawsuit against Accretive claiming abuses of consumer protection law. Accretive, which operates in two dozen states, claims the suit is baseless and has asked for it to be dismissed.
Swanson told Rock Center that there was a time and a place to collect money from patients.
"I'm pretty sure bedside collection visits by a collector in the Emergency Room is not a way to do it," she said.
Swanson said approaching someone during "a tough time" to ask for money amounted to "duress."
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One patient, a grandfather of six, told Rock Center he was hooked up to a morphine drip awaiting surgery to remove an abdominal mass at Fairview Ridges Hospital outside Minneapolis when he was asked for money.
"We don't mind paying, but don't come while I'm drugged up and I've got tubes in my nose and push on me to get it," he said. "Wheel me right to the business office, don't let me out of the hospital. But don't harass me before you try to do the surgery."
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Another patient said he went to Fairview fearing he might have a heart problem. His blood pressure was soaring and he was hooked up to a heart monitor when he was asked to pay a bill of more than $490. He told Rock Center that he wondered about what kind of care he would receive if he didn't pay.
Another patient, who went to Fairview with a digestive disease and a temperature of 103 degrees, said she was asked how she planned to pay, "credit card or check." "I'm not paying for it, I have insurance," she replied.
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In a statement, Fairview told Rock Center that it couldn't comment on individual cases.
But it added that "some of our patients did not have the experience they deserve and that these interactions fell short of our professional expectations. For this, we apologize."
Fairview recently stopped using Accretive's services.
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