Baystate Medical Center, which had sued nearly 300 patients in 15 months for not paying their medical bills and was under state review for its aggressive collection methods, has stopped suing patients and placing liens on their homes except for the largest unpaid bills, executives said.
Hospital executives also said they will no longer tack on interest to patients’ unpaid bills, and have wiped out interest charges on all outstanding accounts.
In early October, a Globe review of court records found that Baystate’s collection firm took nearly 300 patients to Springfield District Court in the previous 15 months, and had placed liens on the homes of at least 46 patients, giving the hospital the right to collect its money when the houses are sold or even force the sale of the properties. One patient, Beverly Ann Pise, owed the hospital $3,000 for a three-day emergency stay in July 2002. In August, a sheriff notified Pise that the hospital had put a $3,600 lien on her Chicopee home.
The collection firm, Gold & Vanaria, was charging patients up to 12 percent annual interest, creating situations in which patients could never climb out of debt because the charges accrued faster than they could afford to pay them off. Another patient the Globe profiled, Bernice Laterreur, was paying the hospital $50 a month, or $600 a year, toward a $6,000 bill. But the 12 percent interest increased her bill by at least $720 a year.
For this complete story, please visit Hospital Softens Collection Tactics.
