A collection agency has been forced to confirm that the letters and calls it has been making to former patients of a Pennsylvania hospital that has been partially closed because of financial troubles are legitimate attempts to collect on the unpaid debts.
The collection agency — Regional Adjustment Bureau — confirmed in a published report that it is attempting to collect unpaid debts owed to Ellwood City Medical Center. The agency was hired by Americore Health LLC, which purchased the hospital in 2017. ECMC’s emergency room and inpatient services were closed last month by the Pennsylvania Department of Health after “serious violations” were uncovered. The chief executive officer of Americore said the plan is to re-open the hospital this month. But, last week, Americore filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, further muddying the waters about the hospital’s future.
About 100 people who have been contacted by RAB took to social media and the local media to complain about the situation, saying the statements they received were “too vague” to determine whether the patients owed the money or whether the treatments should have been covered by their health insurance. In many cases, ECMC did not send out statements of its own or attempt to collect on the debt before it was placed with the agency, according to the published report. The hospital was unable to pay its previous bill processing company, ECMC’s former CEO said in the report.
The statements were purposely left vague to ensure there was not a breach of patient privacy laws, the collection agency said in its statement. All statements included a customer service number that individuals can call with specific questions or concerns. The customer service department can also handle situations where the patient thinks his or her health insurance should have covered the treatments.
