Je geld of je leven! "Harassing patients in emergency rooms into paying their bills"

Bron: medpagetoday:

"Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) is calling for a full-scale investigation into the reportedly questionable debt collection practices of a company accused of harassing patients in emergency rooms into paying their bills.

Stark requested that if the practices of Accretive Health -- a company hired by hospitals to collect payments for medical care -- are found to violate the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), the federal government should issue a bulletin to hospitals informing them about the illegality of the behavior and of possible enforcement actions.

Stark said that if aggressive debt collectors are demanding payment from patients before they receive care in an emergency room, it may be a violation of EMTALA, the law that requires hospitals to provide care regardless of a patient's ability to pay".