Thursday, May 03, 2012

Accretive is claiming Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson is, somehow, at fault for exposing the firm's practices at Fairview.

Reporting is online, here. Readers can do a web search for earlier reporting. The AG website has its multi-volume report on Accretive, here. See MinnPost, Susan Perry reporting, here.

The latest report of Accretive's whining, (without any reporting of that firm pointing to a single thing the AG published that it claims to be false), is from Strib online, again here. Strib's latest report notes timing of Fairview's severing its contract with Accretive:

Last week, Fairview cut off all ties to Accretive after Swanson released a six-volume report detailing what she said were abusive and illegal tactics to pressure patients for money in emergency rooms, cancer wards and other areas.

[Accretive's Attorney Andrew Clubok in a letter addressed to Minnesota's solicitor general, Alan Gilbert ...] accused Swanson of waging a "public campaign of misinformation" that had put Accretive's "important work" in peril. He said the company had been working with Fairview to reduce medical bills and improve patient health, as well as increase collections "from third-party payers" and help uninsured patients get coverage.

It would be interesting if Accretive were to sue, claiming that published things, presumably true, somehow nonetheless tortiously interfered with the contract Accretive had with Fairview. In effect, it would be Accretive making the dubious claim that the AG publishing and publicizing true things injured its business and its business expectancies. It would be fair to conclude that Swanson's publishing and publicizing the situation was with an intent to affect things at Fairview.

Perhaps the Accretive firm, if suing in Minnesota state courts, could get their case before Hennepin County District Court Judge Denise Reilly (of Johnny Northside trial fame). Surely while the hypothetical of Accenture doing such an absurd thing, making such a questionable claim, is improbable, it seems Reilly would be the judge for them were they to file papers.