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Allina to 'pause' controversial patient scheduling practices

The announcement follows a New York Times investigation into the Minnesota nonprofit health system's handling of patients with medical debt.

MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis-based Allina Health has announced it will "pause" a controversial scheduling policy, one week after a New York Times investigation published allegations of denied care and aggressive billing practices.

In a statement posted to its website Friday, Allina said it "will take a thoughtful pause on any new interruptions to non-emergent, outpatient clinic scheduling while we re-examine our policy."

Allina officials tell KARE 11 the "pause" is effective immediately.

The New York Times report alleged that Allina would instruct staff members to cancel or lock out non-emergency appointments for patients who reach $4,500 of unpaid medical debt, even though the health system reports $4 billion in annual revenue and avoids hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes as a nonprofit hospital.

Allina's statement said the health system is committed to "better understand the barriers to accessing the financial support available to our patients" and vowed to listen to the community.

"Reducing barriers to care is central to our mission as a steward of community health, and we will carefully study additional ways to educate our teams about the extensive financial services available to patients experiencing financial barriers to care," the Allina statement reads.

The Times' report drew the attention of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who said he was reviewing the allegations against the health provider, though he stopped short of announcing a formal investigation. 

Last week, Allina said it welcomed a conversation with Ellison's office, but that the health system was in compliance with Minnesota's Hospital Agreement, which offers a wide range of protections for patients at nonprofit hospitals from deceptive or abusive practices to collect medical debt. 

Ellison said patients who may have been denied care or otherwise affected by Allina policies should contact the Minnesota Attorney General's office.

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