Accretive Health would face new claims the company violated debt-collection and consumer-protection laws under a proposed amended complaint (PDF) by Minnesota's attorney general.

Lori Swanson, Minnesota's attorney general, has asked a federal judge to allow new claims against Accretive Health in the state's lawsuit against the billing and collection company. In a lawsuit filed in January following the theft of an Accretive laptop, Swanson alleged that the company violated patient-privacy, debt-collection and consumer-protection laws. Accretive has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

In court records seeking to amend the January lawsuit, Swanson alleges that Accretive “deceived patients by implying that they may not be treated if they didn't pay money on-the-spot in emergencies or for other necessary treatment,” including a part-time sheriff's deputy in Minnesota who was asked to pay $350 before seeing an emergency room physician.

Swanson's request for an amended complaint also alleges Accretive failed to identify itself to debtors as a collection agency and its collection efforts violated a prior agreement between Minnesota's attorney general and Fairview Health Services, Accretive's former client. Fairview terminated its contract with Accretive this year. Minnesota's attorney general in April publicly released a highly critical report on Accretive Health.

In response to Swanson's request, an Accretive spokesperson said in a statement: '“The State's proposed amended complaint contains no new causes of action and no additional requested relief. The state has merely added selected allegations from its April 'Compliance Review,' which contain numerous mischaracterizations and distortions of documents and facts. The company plans to move to dismiss the seconded amended complaint in its entirety.”

A hearing on the proposed amended compliant is scheduled July 6.