Keeping up with COVID protocols
UHD, area care centers are following guidelines
By Kevin Mertens - Staff Writer | Dec 13, 2020
Faribault County has not been immune to the rise in COVID-19 cases in the state of Minnesota. Though the county may not have as many cases to deal with as surrounding counties, the virus is still a concern the United Hospital District (UHD) has had to deal with.
“We are taking care of people with positive COVID results,” UHD chief executive officer Rick Ash says. “We have taken many measures and precautions to isolate them and to keep our staff and other patients safe. We have procedures and work flows in place in both the clinic and hospital to help accomplish this.”
State takes Minnesotans tax refunds for debts owed to hospitals
Hospitals say state s help to collect medical debts is lifeline; some already struggling Minnesotans say it s added hardship. December 11, 2020 4:27pm
The discovery of seven tumors on her liver forced Jean Hehn to make some tough financial choices: Pay her medical bill or pay rent. Pay her medical bill or buy groceries. Pay her medical bill or put gas in her car.
But the state of Minnesota took that choice away from Hehn when it started seizing her state income tax refund to pay an overdue bill with Regions Hospital.
The first time it happened, Hehn said she was shocked and then angry that the state had the power to act as a debt collector for private health care companies. When she told close friends about her experience, some confessed privately that it had happened to them as well.