A controversial Allina Health debt repayment policy is no more. The hospital system is announcing it will no longer prohibit patients from making medical appointments if they are delinquent on their bills.
Allina had paused the program earlier this summer, but now says it has determined there are opportunities to engage their clinical teams and technology differently to provide financial assistance resources for patients who need this support.
The policy was triggered if patients had at least $4,500 in unpaid bills from three separate medical encounters.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison had launched an investigation into the practice.
"The high cost of healthcare makes it tough to afford your life," Ellison tweeted. "Aggressive medical billing makes it hard to live with dignity, safety & respect. We're taking some new steps to tackle this longstanding problem."
Ellison went on to single out Allina.
"I’m also announcing an investigation into Allina’s billing practices," wrote the attorney general. "I’m concerned about reports of Allina denying non-emergency medical care solely on the basis of medical debt. We're investigating if any laws/agreements have been broken. If this has happened to you, tell us."
Allina is also facing challenges with its revenue and an attempt by some doctors to unionize.
A statement from Allina Health reads:
Allina Health remains committed to the creation of the highest quality, affordable and accessible care. Our policy that interrupted the scheduling of non-emergency, outpatient clinic care for patients who do not engage after significant outreach to support the resolution of their medical debt has been extensively reviewed. We have determined there are opportunities to engage our clinical teams and technology differently to provide financial assistance resources for patients who need this support. We will formally transition away from our policy that interrupted the scheduling of non-emergency, outpatient clinic care.
We are grateful to our compassionate team members who work tirelessly to remove barriers to care by assisting patients with financial counseling and programs. We remain proud of our nationally recognized efforts to support patients and communities in proactively addressing key social factors that impact health and look forward to building on our work to support patients.