Yesterday, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), sent a letter to Rod Hochman, President and CEO of Providence St. Joseph Health, a non-profit hospital system, demanding answers about Providence’s efforts to aggressively bill patients who were entitled to free or discounted care. The letter comes in light of New York Times reporting earlier this week that Providence hospitals forced patients who should have received free or discounted care to pay for that care, including by sending debt collectors to hound those patients. The report found the hospitals’ practices hurt patients’ credit scores, left them struggling to afford groceries and heat, and discouraged them from seeking future medical care.
“I am deeply concerned by a recent report from the New York Times indicating that Providence St. Joseph Health engaged in a series of practices which resulted in patients who should have received free or discounted medical care to instead pay for that care through aggressive debt collection practices. I am requesting answers to better understand these reported practices in light of federal and state laws that place strict requirements on the actions of hospitals like Providence and which seemingly contradict your mission to be ‘steadfast in serving all, especially those who are poor and vulnerable,’” wrote Senator Murray.
The letter continues, “According to recent reports, over the past several years, Providence has increasingly extracted payments from low-income patients, even when patients qualified for free or discounted care. The reports allege several disturbing practices, including high-pressure billing conversations at hospital beds when patients are vulnerable, the use of extraordinary collection actions by debt collectors, and patients eligible for free or discounted care being billed for outstanding balances. As a result, patients have gone without food or heat, have seen their credit scores plummet, and have been afraid to seek out further medical care due to the cost—all as a result of practices that potentially violate both state and federal laws.”
In the letter, Senator Murray called for answers by October 12 about how many patients Providence has served in recent years who qualified for free or discounted care—and how many Providence referred to debt collection services. She also asked about Providence’s billing and debt collection policies, how much it paid the consulting firm McKinsey & Company for a program designed to increase the non-profit hospital system’s revenue, and more.
Senator Murray also asked specifically that Providence explain how they intend to write-off, forgive, refund the debt, or otherwise ameliorate the harm inflicted on patients who are eligible for financial assistance who were not properly informed of their eligibility.
Original source can be found here.
