November 21, 2009
What's Inside:
A couple of suggestions for Heartland's new CEO
We live in a city that loves history and faithfully acknowledges its founding fathers. Joseph Robidoux, George Bode, Phil Welch, the Wyeth family and many others etched their legacies on our buildings, streets and Parkway. This past week, you wondered how St. Joseph will remember retired Heartland CEO Lowell Kruse.
Think of the dramatic changes Mr. Kruse wrought through his grand vision and deft financial management. He made a Downtown hospital disappear and built a new medical campus on the city’s East Side. He made Heartland our city’s biggest employer and, arguably, one of the most politically influential organizations in Northwest Missouri. Although it can’t count profits, Heartland amasses millions in “excess earnings” every year. A private man, his feuds with doctors were often public.
Mr. Kruse cast such a powerful image that a local legend holds that his office features a huge chess board with pieces that represent St. Joseph businesses, properties and politicians. Mr. Kruse would host clandestine meetings with other civic leaders, and as they divided the spoils of St. Joseph, they would move pieces around the board.
As with all powerful leaders, opinions varied on Mr. Kruse. Some saw him as being St. Joseph’s big brother, a larger-than-life sibling who pushed a hospital and city to greater heights. Others saw him literally as Big Brother, an Orwellian villain who crushed competition and controlled every move.
It was into those sizable shoes that Dr. Mark Laney stepped last week.
Dr. Laney is an intriguing choice to replace Mr. Kruse. He has an impressive medical pedigree, and our newspaper reported that he has “more degrees than a Texas thermometer.” In the coming months and years, we’ll see how Dr. Laney applies these credentials and where he will take Heartland in the future.
No doubt Dr. Laney will form a vision, if he doesn’t have one already. But while he’s compiling a giant “to-do” list, there are a couple of areas Dr. Laney could address that would go far in countering St. Joseph’s negative feelings about his hospital.
First, fix the emergency room, even if you just need better public relations.
Without a doubt, one of the most common complaints about Heartland’s ER is that it takes way too long to receive care. A friend of mine recounted an all-too-familiar story last week. His daughter became sick one afternoon. He and his wife took her to Heartland Urgent Care Clinic, but were referred to the hospital’s ER. They arrived at the hospital, filled out some paperwork, then sat for eight hours before a doctor examined their child. Thankfully, the illness was not serious. They were given some medicine and sent home.
Stories persist of long waits, an uncaring staff and bedlam, while sick people are suffering. Such tales may not be true, or they may be greatly exaggerated, but this is the reputation Heartland’s ER has with some.
Second, stop suing people.
Whatever gentle bedside manner a patient experiences while checked into the hospital comes to a screeching halt when it’s time to pay the bill. Heartland’s collection arm, Midwestern Health Management Inc. (doing business as Northwest Financial Services) is an embarrassment.
Most patients are hard-working, responsible folks who want to pay what they owe. And, since medical bills accumulate at an astounding rate, not everyone has the money on hand to settle up right away.
Enter Midwestern Health. The company’s tactics are ultra-aggressive and demeaning. They file a mountain of small claims lawsuits every week. They are listed as a creditor on far too many personal bankruptcy filings. It’s hard to view Heartland as a caring, civic partner when its collectors are harassing and suing you.
So good luck, Dr. Laney. As you develop your own vision for Heartland, please don’t forget that caring for patients begins when they show up at the sliding glass door of your emergency room and should continue until the account is settled.
Steve Booher’s column runs on Monday. He can be reached at steveb@npgco.com.
This story has 9 comments. Click here to join in on the discussion.
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I can't argue with the first suggestion but #2 makes little sense. Is Heartland/Midwestern Health Management to simply write off everyone's bills? Don't you understand that ultimately this just puts the financial burden back upon those of us who are financialy responsible? While there are always expections I can say from experience with my own family members that often individuals who are unwilling/unable to pay their medical bills are in that situation because they have insisted upon having too big of a house, too many new cars, etc.. for their income and are overleveraged to begin with. It's also amazing how many individuals are supposedly too poor to pay their medical bills but yet have no problem making two payments on their SUVs and their boat among numerous other unneeded toys.
Exactly right on both counts, Mr. Booher. Those are the 2 reasons we now go to NKC.
Midwestern Health/Northwest, as I understand, has been a for-profit operation. Did the News-Press ever inquire as to who the shareholders and the officers were? As to where the profits went? As to who were the salaried executives? Who were the directors? Were they paid? These questions should be asked to help get a fuller understanding of the for-profit aspects of Heartland.
Well at one time there were officers for Midwestern Health at one time Northwest's bosses answered to John Wilson who answered directly to Lowell Kruse. So take a good guess on where the money is going............the only othere suggestions I would have for them is A) STOP your bull dog tactics with the offices here in town who will not sell out to you and explain to the offices owned by you and the departments in Heartland that YOU DO NOT OWN EVERY PROVIDER IN TOWN AND QUIT THREATENING TO CALL MR. KRUSE IF WE DON'T BOW DOWN TO YOUR EVERY WISH BECAUSE HEARTLAND DOESN'T OWN US! B) Get some management at Northwest who understands how to deal with the public instead of the half hazzard grouping they do have prehaps their response for the citizens in this town just might improve then again the are sue happy so what good would it do.
whatnext - Ah, but they think they do and in that rests the problem with any one entity controlling a market. The argument that the area can not support a second medical facility is nonsense and until the day it happens true changes are doubtful.
Well written Mr. Booher! As a Heartland patient, and Northwest Financial Services victim, I will attest to the bullying tactics. I am a gainfully employed person working in finance. I am not unwilling or unable to pay legitimate debt. Heartland’s first step towards improving their collections needs to start with their billing system. I received a notice of insurance payment this month for services rendered in June of 2008. Where has my monthly statement been? Perhaps this debt was sent to Northwest Financial who repeatedly tells me they do not have to justify a listed debt. I have already had my chance to pay and should have done so. They then tell me they will sue and I give them my standard response of please do. By having Northwest Financial file suit, I obtain a valid list of debts and am given the opportunity to dispute or pay what I legitimately owe. Perhaps a counter suit on my part for the Fair Credit and Collections Act violations committed by this collection agency would be a wake-up call!
Flhxgir1-The FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act) requires them to send you a PL-195 which is the first notice that gives you 30 days to dispute the debt on the 31st day they can start active collections on the debt. They also are required to give you the "mini miranda" when they call you "This is an attempt to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose" if they don't you got them on a FDCPA violation which you can sue the company and the individual collector as well. I have always felt they should get challenged and sued on a regular basis for their flagrant violation of the FDCPA. Perhaps if they got sued for their violations of the collection laws. Maybe if they lost some more suits and had to pay the debtor they might get a clue. As for the June of 2008 bill if your insurance company just paid that bill they were crazy because that is WAY past timely filing and if I were you I would tell them to go take a hike, unless the Credit Bureau has changed their policy if the principle balance is under 50.00 they will not accept the report of a debt. That entire place is just full of rude and nasty people and I find funny that a few of them have filed bankruptcy and dodged debt yet they pick up the phone and call and harrass others for not paying their bills does anyone else see something wrong with that picture.
Thanks for the input whatnext and you are correct on all accounts. Other FDCPA violations have included contacting my employer on numerous occasions to verify employment-I believe that is a one time deal-and combining each individual debt into one. I have been told I have to pay debt I dispute before they will apply payment to debt I acknowledge. My well documented list goes on and on. I'm sure numerous people are in the same situation I am. I am not a debt dodger, but I will not hand over my hard earned money to this not for profit organization-who cannot seem to get their billing system together-or their collection agency that operates as if they were above the law.
They can call and verify employment, but if they are calling to speak to you, that is where they are starting to cross the line, send a certified letter return receipt requested to them stating not to call you at work that is is inconvenient to speak to them while you are at work. If they call for you at work after receiving this letter you have them on another violation. I would almost be inclined to install a recording device on my phone and record my converstions with them just make sure it makes a beeping sound otherwise you will have to tell them the call is being recorded and they will actually obey the lawas. As for demanding that you pay a debt after you dispute it they can not do that unless they have sent you verification of the debt which they are required to do by law and you have acknowledged that you owe the debt. If they are doing everything you say that they are sue them it is just that simple they have been sued in the past and had to write off the debt that an individual owes becuase of their stupidity. The only hold they have over most is the fact that most honest working people who have a serious issue come up and end up with a huge amount of medical debt is the fact that they person does not want to be garnished it is that simple and the implied threat that that could happen is enough for most to buckle under their tactics.