Fairview Hospitals and Accretive Health should issue a public statement apologizing for any confirmed misconduct alleged by the Minnesota Attorney General's office, particularly alleged patient harassment and abusive financial intimidation tactics that may violate state and federal law, and promise to refrain from any and all misconduct in the future. People who are, or thinking about becoming, contributing donors to the U of M Fairview Amplatz Children's Hospital may feel compelled to put their contribution pledges on hold unless and until they are publicly assured by Fairview's attorneys, CEO and Board of Directors that patients and their families will consistently be treated with dignity and respect at all Fairview medical facilities, and will never be subjected to the despicable financial intimidation tactics alleged by Attorney General Lori Swanson.

Fairview Southdale asked my wife for $600 as my son waited in the ER in September of 2011 to be treated for an appendicitis. They said it was for the deductible. My wife didn't know better and unfortunately I wasn't there--because I HAD NO DEDUCTIBLE. I called the next day to complain. Fairview admitted that it didn't have any of the details of my insurance policy. It took 7 weeks for Fairview to refund my money. Outrageous.

This is what happens when we turn industries like health care into for-profit businesses. Their primary concern is money, and it is literally killing us.

How about it is the patient responsibility to know your own medical plan. My husband is a sole practioner and we are stuck holding the bag for patients that will not pay after they are treated! That is MY family that has to go without. Who is suppose to pay???

single-payer - the precipitate in the solution.

aviendhaApr. 25, 1211:09 PM "This is what happens when we turn industries like health care into for-profit businesses. Their primary concern is money, and it is literally killing us." When were they ever non profit??? You need a profit to: pay staff, turn on the lights, run the ventilator, make up for all the money you lose on people who don't pay, and keep your hospital accredited by government agencies. The amount of money in just computer software, staffing, and inventory is unreal. You need to go spend some time in collections in a hospital to know what you're talking about and how much money we have to write off every quarter. You think it's expensive and it is, but the hospitals ARE NOT the ones getting rich. They are running on razor thin margins and most are losing money or breaking even at best. If it's so easy and only money driven you should be able to go open you're own "lovey dovey hospital" and give people whatever they want and not worry about getting paid. See how long you stay in business.

It's much the same story as far as getting Dental Care, which is just as important as getting Medical Care. Both Individual, and Group, Dental Insurance Policies seem to cover LESS than ever before. Dental Care is expensive and patients are often responsible for huge amounts of money. I'm always asked -- BEFORE any Dental Procedure: Root Canal, Crown, Implant, X-Ray, etc. -- HOW I will pay for whatever my Dental Insurance doesn't cover. If a Dental provider won't get paid IN-FULL, you often won't get a Dental treatment. At least not until you can "Pay For It". Dental providers have more "Discretion" about providing Charity Care. Not having good Dental Care can be just as serious as not getting good Medical Care.

Reacting to attorney general's report, they were quick to say they don't ask for upfront money in emergency room. Liars - They wheeled their little laptop computer into our room in January 2011 while we were waiting to be seen, after being roomed by the ER staff. We got to prepay the entire $891 bill before we were seen by the physician. To Fairview's credit, they did credit us the ~$500 overcharge, since they had overestimated our bill. But - not exactly patient-friendly service.

I'm with ladyluck. I've worked medical back office for over 30 years and it's the attitude of the general public that, more than likely, led Fairview to their current practice. The number of people that won't even pay their copay once they've received their care and walked out the door is deplorable. I don't care what the service is. It is not your 'right' to receive the benefits of someone's learned skills and not compensate them whether it be a plumber or anyone else.

I had 2 emergency services performed in the past 6 years when I had no insurance coverage. I wasn't questioned for money up front but both time, shortly after getting home, I received a call from the hospital. They stated that because I had no insurance, they could offer me a 60% discount on the amount charged. Of course I happily accepted but it did make me wonder, why would they offer that to me (I didn't even ask for a discount, they offered out of the blue). Are hospitals charging more if you have insurance? Are they simply overcharging for their services? When I questioned the lady about this, she simply said they do it for all patients who do not have insurance. Strange.