Accretive Health Asks Judge To Toss MN AG's Lawsuit
CHICAGO (WCCO) -- Accretive Health Inc. filed a motion Monday to dismiss the Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson's lawsuit, saying Swanson's accusations that the company broke patient privacy laws are "factually baseless and legally indefensible."
Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson is suing Accretive Health Incorporation, a debt collection agency. It stems from an incident last year when someone stole a laptop with medical information for more than 23,000 North Memorial and Fairview patients.
Swanson said Accretive Health Incorporated violated patients' privacy and also played a role in patients' health care, which patients did not know.
Under consumer protection laws, companies have to tell you they are attempting to collect a debt.
"They are a debt collector and they are not disclosing that," said Swanson.
Now, Accretive Health says privacy laws have not been violated because since the laptop was stolen, there is "no evidence that any patient data has been compromised."
In court documents, Accretive further states that its company was working with the Minnesota Department of Commerce to address its debt collection practices, so Swanson is barred from pursuing the identical claims already addressed by a fellow state official "under fundamental principles of law."
