Accretive taps politicians for defense

So what do you do when you're accused of hitting up sick patients in the hospital to pay their bills—sometimes even before they get treatment? Well, if you're Chicago-based Accretive Health, under fire by not only the Minnesota Attorney General but key members of Congress and possibly the Obama Administration, you fight fire with fire. You line up your own set of political defenders. So now Accretive is upping the ante. It has enlisted a veritable who's who in health policy to come up with "national standards for how hospitals and other providers interact with patients regarding their financial obligations." In other words, how aggressive can debt collectors be without running afoul of federal law, various or regulation or good public relations.