Trial starts tomorrow against Optimum Outcomes, last defendant in Ferguson’s charity care lawsuit against Providence and its debt collectors
SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced today that debt collection agency Harris & Harris will pay his office $1 million to resolve a lawsuit, which asserted the company unlawfully collected medical payments from more than 160,000 Washington patients without providing them with disclosures about their rights when faced with medical debt. By excluding those disclosures, Harris & Harris created barriers that kept patients from learning about and accessing financial assistance on their hospital bills.
Harris & Harris is one of two debt collectors hired by Providence Health & Services, which recently resolved another related lawsuit filed by the Attorney General. Earlier this month, Providence entered into a legally enforceable agreement that requires the health system to provide $157.8 million in refunds and debt forgiveness to nearly 100,000 patients over unlawful medical charges to low-income Washingtonians who likely qualified for free or reduced-cost hospital care.
Ferguson expanded that lawsuit in the summer of 2022 by adding Harris & Harris and Providence’s other debt collection agency, Optimum Outcomes. The state’s amended complaint asserted that both debt collectors collected on medical debt without informing patients of their right to request specific information about their medical debt. The debt collectors also failed to provide a phone number for the hospital where patients received care, so that they could learn about their financial assistance rights. Optimum Outcomes also failed to inform patients that they may be eligible for financial assistance, as required by state law.
Today’s legally enforceable agreement only resolves the lawsuit with Harris & Harris. Ferguson’s case against the other debt collection agency, Optimum Outcomes, is scheduled to go to trial Feb. 22.
“Debt collectors must play by the rules,” Ferguson said. “Washingtonians have a right to know about certain protections related to medical debt, and debt collectors have an obligation to inform them of those rights. We will continue to enforce these protections on medical debt.”
Today’s resolution requires Harris & Harris to reform its practice to include legally required disclosures in first written collection notices in the future. Harris & Harris will pay for consumer education to approximately 166,000 Washingtonians who received the debt collection letters that lacked the disclosures. These individuals will receive a letter explaining their medical debt collection rights, including their right to apply for financial assistance on hospital bills. The $1 million will fund future consumer protection enforcement work.
Background on lawsuit against debt collectors
Ferguson added the collection agencies to his lawsuit in the summer of 2022.
Both collection agencies entered into a contract with Providence in September 2019. The agreement allowed them to collect hospital debts on Providence’s behalf and act as its agents.
When sending a first collection notice, collection agencies must include:
Written notice that an individual may be eligible for charity care;
Contact information for the hospital; and
Notice that the patient has the right to request the hospital account number assigned to the debt, date of last payment, and an itemized statement stating whether the patient was found eligible for charity care, and, if so, the amount due after all charity care has been applied.
The state asserts that in first written collection notices, Harris & Harris included its own phone number rather than the phone number for Providence, and did not inform patients of their right to request detailed information about their medical debts.
On Feb. 2, 2024, the court found that Optimum Outcomes failed to provide any of the required information in 82,759 first written notices it sent to Providence patients.
According to Ferguson’s lawsuit, Harris & Harris sent more than 294,652 first written collection notices without the legally required disclosures to 166,872 Washingtonians. Harris & Harris collected nearly $25 million from patients in the process, earning $1.7 million in commission from Providence.
Patients who were likely eligible for financial assistance but were sent to collections and paid for their care will receive refunds, including interest, as a result of the resolution with Providence. Patients who incurred debt when they were likely eligible for financial assistance will have their debt written off as a result of the resolution with Providence.
Assistant Attorneys General Audrey Udashen, Will O’Connor, Michael Bradley, Matthew Geyman, Lucy Wolf, Tad Robinson O’Neill and Robert Hyde, Paralegals Jen Killoren, Judy Lim, Matthew Hehemann and Joseph Drouin, and Legal Assistants Josh Bennett and Michelle Paules handled the case for Washington.
Providence billed, aggressively collected from low-income patients
Ferguson filed his lawsuit against Providence in February 2022, accusing its affiliated hospitals of billing and aggressively collecting money from low-income Washingtonians without determining if they qualified for financial assistance.
Ferguson’s Consumer Protection investigation started in 2020, following complaints about collection practices at Swedish. It revealed Providence engaged in numerous practices between 2018 and 2022 that prevented patients from accessing financial assistance. Providence trained employees on aggressive and deceptive collection tactics. Their script included:
“Ask every patient every time” to pay outstanding medical costs;
“Don’t accept the first no;”
If a patient declines the first request, ask for partial payment;
Use phrasing that signals to patients “payment is expected.”
The lawsuit asserted that Providence knew many of its patients were likely eligible for financial assistance and not only failed to inform them, but also kept collecting payments from them. In fact, Providence sent thousands of patients it identified as “presumptively” qualified for financial assistance to debt collectors. Internal emails revealed Providence did this because it knew those patients were more likely to pay their bills if collection attempts continued.
Moreover, starting in 2019, Providence sent thousands of Medicaid patients to debt collectors. Medicaid enrollees are among the lowest income Washingtonians, and are deemed eligible for financial assistance under Providence’s own policies. Providence staff caught the issue early and raised concerns to leadership. In fact, according to internal records, one employee warned: “We are sending the poor to bad debt and not treating them the same as other patients.” Providence did not correct the problem for more than two years.
Even when Providence wrote off debt for patients it later determined to be “presumptively” qualified for financial assistance, the company kept them in the dark about those write-offs, and therefore their eligibility for future assistance.
In all, Ferguson asserts that Providence’s deceptive and unfair practices amounted to more than 100,000 violations of the state Consumer Protection Act.
The case against Providence is part of Ferguson’s Health Care Initiative. The resolution is the largest of four charity care cases handled by his office, resulting in more than $205 million in debt forgiveness and refunds for Washingtonians. Washington is one of 11 states with broad charity care protections and the only state to pursue any large-scale enforcement.
Ferguson’s three other charity care resolutions include:
PeaceHealth agreed to pay up to $13.4 million to more than 15,000 low-income patients, including $4.2 million in direct refunds and up to $9.2 million through a claims process.
CHI Franciscan provided $41 million in debt relief and $1.8 million in refunds, in addition to rehabilitating the credit of thousands of patients.
Capital Medical Center in Olympia paid at least $250,000 in refunds and provided more than $131,000 in debt relief to resolve Ferguson’s lawsuit filed in 2017.
Anyone who feels they are not receiving the financial assistance on their hospital bill they are entitled to should file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office.
New law expands access to medical financial assistance
Before 2022, state law required hospitals to provide free or reduced-cost care to Washington families making up to 200% of the federal poverty level.
In March 2022, the Legislature passed an Attorney General Request bill strengthening Washington’s medical financial assistance law. It went into effect July 1, 2022. Ferguson worked with prime sponsor Rep. Tarra Simmons, D-Bremerton, and Reps. Eileen Cody, D-Seattle, and Nicole Macri, D-Seattle, on House Bill 1616. The new law expanded eligibility for financial assistance to more than one million Washingtonians and guaranteed free hospital care to an additional million Washingtonians.
Now, approximately half of all Washingtonians are eligible for free or reduced-cost hospital care. Washingtonians up to 300% of the federal poverty level are now eligible for free care at the state’s large health care systems and large, urban hospitals — representing approximately 80 percent of the licensed beds in the state. The bill also significantly increased medical financial assistance at the state’s smaller, more rural hospitals, with free care up to 200% of the federal poverty level and discounted care up to 400%.
Under the medical financial assistance law, hospitals are required to:
Provide notice of the availability of financial assistance both verbally and in writing;
Screen patients for eligibility before attempting to collect payment, and;
Only require patients to provide one income-related document to prove eligibility for financial assistance.
If a patient appears to be eligible for financial assistance, hospitals must suspend any collection attempts and give the patient a reasonable opportunity to apply.
For more information about Washington’s medical financial assistance law, including tools to see if you qualify, visit affordablehospital.wa.gov.
IN OTHER STATE RELATED NEWS:
West Plains residents to receive no-cost drinking water sampling for PFAS.
SPOKANE –
Drinking water sampling for PFAS will soon be available to about 300 private and shared wells in the northeast West Plains area at no cost to residents. The sampling will begin in early March and comes in response to community concerns about drinking water contaminated with the chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). PFAS compounds are found in firefighting foam and other sources./DOE
New Unemployment Insurance Navigator Program aims to remove barriers to benefits in local communities
OLYMPIA – The Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD) will distribute $2 million in U.S. Department of Labor funds to community organizations to help potential unemployment claimants in underserved communities better understand available benefits./ESD
WDFW invites public participation in annual salmon season-setting process.
Washington’s North of Falcon process kicks off March 1 with statewide salmon forecast hybrid meeting in Olympia./WDFW
Public comment period open for Washington three-year hunting season setting.
OLYMPIA – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is now accepting public comments on proposed rule changes to 2024-2026 hunting season regulations. WDFW is accepting public comments submitted electronically, by phone, or by mail until March 25, or during a public hearing on March 26./WDFW
Voting begins Friday for Washington’s March 12 Presidential Primary.
OLYMPIA — Ballot boxes in all 39 counties will open Friday, Feb. 23, for the March 12 Presidential Primary election. Vote-by-mail ballots are being sent to the state’s 4.8 million active voters, who may return their ballots to county drop boxes or by mail using the postage-paid envelopes included with each ballot./ WA SEC. of State
2) FROM OUR CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION
Senator Murray Visits the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe Child Development Center, YMCA of Snohomish County; Discusses Her Efforts to Tackle the Child Care Crisis
Murray secured $1.5 million to expand the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe’s Child Development Center in Fiscal Year 2023; Murray is fighting to secure $943,000 for the YMCA of Snohomish County to expand access to early childhood education in Fiscal Year 2024/ press release issued 2/22/24
Senator Murray Hosts Roundtable with Everett Fire, Police Department, Local Officials to Discuss Fentanyl Epidemic in Snohomish County
ICYMI: Senator Murray Meets with Mayors of Seattle, Tacoma, Everett, Vancouver to Discuss Fentanyl Crisis, Solutions/Press release issued 2/22/24
Senator Murray Discusses Mental Health Investments with Tacoma Leaders, Tours HOPE Program Mobile Unit
Senator Murray is fighting to secure $500,000 for the City of Tacoma to support their municipal therapeutic courts and $2,000,000 for HopeSparks to expand pediatric medical and behavioral health care./press release issued 2/20/24
3) WORLD< NATION < BUSINESS
WORLD HEADLINES:
Underlining “Desperation and Scarcity” in Gaza, Special Coordinator Appeals for Ceasefire as Possible Israeli Military Operation Looms Over Rafah
Head of Médecins Sans Frontières Urges Measure Not When “Practicable”, But Now/ UN PRESS RELEASE
Reporting on Security Council’s Visiting Mission to Colombia, Delegates Assess Progress in Building Peace, Ensuring Transitional Justice
Focus on Challenges to Implementing Historic Peace Accord’s Ethnic, Rural Chapters, Amnesty Requests by Former Combatants/UN PRESS RELEASE
UN Peacekeepers Need Adequate Transport, Logistics to Protect Civilians, Help Expand State Authority in Central African Republic, Mission Chief Tells Security Council
Delegates Urge Tighter Border Control to Stop Weapons Flow to Armed Groups/ UN PRESS RELEASE
Remarks by Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield at a Press Briefing on the Two-Year Mark of Russia’s Unprovoked Invasion of Ukraine/ USUN
Responding to Two Years of Russia’s Full-Scale War On Ukraine and Navalny’s Death./US STATE DEPT.
NATIONAL HEADLINES:
On-the-Record Press Call on the Biden-Harris Administration Initiative to Bolster the Cybersecurity of U.S. Ports/WH
Army Secretary Says Astronaut's Army Values Inspire Others/ DOD
Justice Department Files Statement of Interest in Lawsuit Concerning Unnecessary Law Enforcement Responses to Mental Health Emergencies/DOJ
Biden-Harris Administration Releases State-by-State Breakdown of $1.2 Billion in SAVE Plan Forgiveness.
The Biden-Harris Administration today is publishing a state-by-state breakdown of the nearly 153,000 borrowers who are receiving $1.2 billion in forgiveness under President Biden’s Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan. Servicers started processing this forgiveness today./DEPT. of EDUCATION
HUD Makes $115 Million Available to Support Housing for Seniors
Deputy Secretary Todman announced the funds in Philadelphia, PA as a part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s “Investing in America” tour, aiming to create and improve affordable rental homes for elderly Americans./HUD
BUSINESS:
New U.S. Department of the Treasury Price Cap Analysis Shows That Increased Sanctions Enforcement Is Forcing Russia to Sell Oil at a Steeper Discount and Limiting Russian Revenue/US TREASURY
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Designates Jonathan Mayer to Serve as the Justice Department’s First Chief Science and Technology Advisor and Chief AI Officer/DOJ
What’s the Rush?
Governor Christopher J. Waller
At the Finding Forward Speaker Series, University of St. Thomas, Opus College of Business, Minneapolis, MN/THE FED
IRS begins audits of corporate jet usage; part of larger effort to ensure high-income groups don’t fly under the radar on tax responsibilities/IRS
Biden-Harris Administration Announces Over $770 Million for Rural Infrastructure Projects During Investing in America Tour
Funding Will Bring High-Speed Internet, Clean Drinking Water and Modern Infrastructure to More Than One Million People in Rural Communities/ USDA
IN FOCUS & LOCAL MEETINGS
IN FOCUS: Commissioner Franz Issues Statement on Legislative Budget Proposals.
Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz issued the following statement today about the proposed supplemental state budgets introduced this week in the Washington Legislature
“I am appreciative that the Senate proposed full funding of our critical work to prevent catastrophic wildfires, restore the health of our forests, and make our communities resilient to the effects of climate change. The funding from House Bill 1168 has been incredibly impactful and felt all across Washington in just the first two years. We’ve made clear for nearly a year that now is not the time to cut back on acres treated, habitats restored, and properties saved. I trust that the members of the House understand this and will match the Senate by adjusting its budget proposal to fully fund our efforts to keep Washington evergreen.
“While I understand that we’re facing a budget shortfall, I am disappointed the Legislature chose not to include funding for affordable housing on public lands -- because families struggling to afford housing can’t wait. Using our public lands is a scalable solution to the housing crisis we all agree we’re facing. I urge the legislature to pass HB 2003, which would make it easier to develop housing on public lands, and I implore our legislators to commit to finding ways to fund housing on public lands during the next legislative session. The longer we delay funding creative solutions, the longer families from Aberdeen to Spokane will struggle to afford housing where they live and work.”
ref. https://www.dnr.wa.gov/news/commissioner-franz-issues-statement-legislative-budget-proposals
Biden-Harris Administration Announces $50 Million from Investing in America Agenda to Clean Up Legacy Pollution on Federal Lands and Waters.
WASHINGTON — The Department of the Interior today announced a $50.5 million investment through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to put people to work plugging, remediating and reclaiming orphaned oil and gas well sites located in national parks, national forests, national wildlife refuges, and on other public lands and waters. Five bureaus within the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture will address 123 high-priority polluting wells that pose threats to human health and safety, the climate, and wildlife.
This year’s funding is part of an overall historic $4.7 billion investment from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to address orphaned oil and gas wells across the nation that will create good-paying union jobs, catalyze economic growth and revitalization, improve public health and safety, and reduce harmful methane leaks. Methane pollution from many of these unplugged wells is a serious safety hazard and a significant driver of climate change, with methane being more than 25 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere.
“Toxic orphaned wells pose a significant threat to American communities and our environment,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “I’ve seen firsthand how orphaned oil and gas wells left behind by extractive industries lead to hazardous pollution, water contamination, and safety hazards. This crucial funding reflects President Biden’s vision for a cleaner, safer and more equitable future. It’s a win-win-win – reducing harmful methane emissions, restoring our treasured landscapes, and creating good-paying jobs.”
Today’s allocation is part of a total of $250 million provided through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to clean up orphaned well sites on federal public lands and is in addition to $4.3 billion to plug orphaned wells on state and private lands. Today’s announcement brings the total allocated to address orphaned wells on federal lands to date to approximately $150 million, which is estimated to fund the plugging of nearly 600 orphaned wells on federal lands and waters, 172 of which have already been addressed. The $50.5 million investment will be distributed across 19 states, covering a diverse array of projects, including plugging, reclamation, methane measurement, and infrastructure removal at various national parks, wildlife refuges, and national forests as well as offshore oilfield locations.
70 percent of selected projects will benefit communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. This program advances the President’s Justice40 Initiative, which set a goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities.
CLALLAM COUNTY MEETINGS
Clallam County Commission work session for 2/26/24
https://www.clallamcountywa.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02262024-1079
Clallam County Commission meeting for 2/27/24
https://www.clallamcountywa.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02272024-1078
HOUSING Solutions committee meeting for 3/1/24
https://www.clallamcountywa.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03012024-1077
Port of Port Angeles Commission 2/27/24
https://portofpa.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2-27-24-Comission-packet.pdf
City of Sequim Council meeting for 2/26/24
https://sequimwa.civicweb.net/Portal/MeetingInformation.aspx?Org=Cal&Id=110
City of Forks Council meeting 2/26/24
https://forkswashington.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Agenda-20240226.pdf
Clallam County PUD meeting for 2/26/24
https://go.boarddocs.com/wa/clallampud/Board.nsf/Public
JEFFERSON COUNTY MEETINGS
Jefferson County Commission meeting for 2/26/24
https://media.avcaptureall.cloud/meeting/8554cda3-a50f-4f8e-b911-2ddccf7ce27b
Port of Port Townsend Commission meeting 2/28/24
https://portofpt.com/wp-content/uploads/2024-02-28-CommMtg-Agenda.pdf
Weekly devotional
BIBLE VERSE: Jeremiah 29:11-13 (New International Version)
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Weekly Bible Lesson:
How Are Local Churches Organized?
Churches of Christ are free from denominational rule. They are striving to go strictly by God’s plan for the church in the Bible. They are pleading for an exact reproduction of the church as it was in the New Testament. They are working to restore every part of the Lord’s plan for His church. One of these important parts to be restored is the Scriptural organization of the local churches. We must follow the true pattern of government for the church which is given in the New Testament. All Scriptural officers for the church are in the local congregation today. These congregations are under no board or ruling committee. Each is supplied with its own officers from the congregation itself. Committee or officers outside the local church are not found in the Word of God.--TFTW
https://truthfortheworld.org/how-are-local-churches-organized
Free bible studies (WBS)
https://www.worldbibleschool.org/
Learn English using the bible as text (WEI)
http://www.worldenglishinstitute.org/
(Join us in worship every Sunday starting at 10:30AM Church of Christ)
1233 E Front St, Port Angeles, WA 98362
The Chosen: About the life of Christ
https://watch.angelstudios.com/thechosen
THIS WEEK'S VIDEOS:
Exposing the Secret White House Plans for America’s SABOTAGE
It almost feels like the chaos surrounding us today is too much. We’ve had 7.2 million migrants illegally enter the U.S. since President Joe Biden took office. We’ve got record inflation and violent crime rates. How did our country turn UPSIDE DOWN so fast? Glenn explains that what’s happening today isn’t actually “chaos,” because the definition of “chaos” is “complete disorder and confusion.” The people behind everything happening in our country today aren’t confused all. In fact, the current destruction America is experiencing today was by DESIGN.
Glenn walks you through the playbook, which is borrowed from Barack Obama. The Obama playbook for fundamental transformation was something called “Top Down, Bottom Up, and Inside Out.” A similar plan was used by the Soviets to flip a capitalist Czechoslovakia to communist.
The progressive U.S. version is modeled on a strategy written by American socialists from the 1960s called the Cloward-Piven Strategy. When Glenn first outlined this strategy over 10 years ago, the media mocked him, but no one is laughing now as the top pillars of society begin to crumble: government, culture, law and order, the economy, media and information. Topple just one of these, and you could force a country — even one as powerful as the United States — to fall.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgO_HWKjB4g
Sunday Worship - 2/18/2023 FOUR LAKES C. of C.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2DpRQrK_E0
NIGHT OWL COMICS
https://pjrnightowlcomics.blogspot.com/
The Port Angeles Globe is a weekly Publication, every Saturday-- Publisher, Peter Ripley
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