Another hospital has announced it is reviewing its debt collection policies and procedures following a published report that labeled it as the facility in Connecticut that “stands alone” it suing former patients for unpaid medical bills.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: Have you signed up for Friday’s webinar “The New Dynamic of Healthcare Collections: When Lawsuits Might Not Be An Option” which is being sponsored by PDCflow? Sign up now!]
The facility — Danbury Hospital — was responsible for half of the medical debt cases filed in 2016 — the most recent data available, according to a published report. The facility filed 13,824 suits in 2016, which was 39% higher than the number it had filed a year earlier.
Danbury Hospital, which is part of the Western Connecticut Health Network — recently renamed Nuvance Health, told the publication that it is reviewing its debt collection policies. The company said it recovered 23% of the amount it had assigned to a collection agency last year.
Hospitals in Virginia, Oklahoma, New York, Tennessee, and Maryland have all been accused of being too aggressive with their collection efforts. In response, many of the hospitals have announced plans to no longer file lawsuits against individuals with unpaid debts and to increase the thresholds for individuals who can qualify to receive charity care.
High deductible health plans are being cited as the reason that more individuals are leaving the hospital with unpaid debts, which is why the hospital has had to file more lawsuits. The Connecticut legislature has even established a High Deductible Health Plan Task Force
