Attorney General Lori Swanson wants Minnesota hospitals to refund sexual violence victims who have been unlawfully charged for physical exams.
On Friday, Swanson sent a letter to health care providers across the state reminding them that billing rape victims for exams violates the law. She also asked hospital administrators to respond to a list of questions about their billing and treatment practices, which her office will use to identify hospitals that have been inappropriately billing and help the victims seek repayment.
Swanson's letter follows the publication of a state report that found major inconsistencies in how Minnesota hospitals treat sexual assault victims.
State and federal laws mandate that counties are responsible for picking up the charges for sexual assault exams, and hospitals can only bill a victim's insurance provider with consent. But more than half of professionals interviewed for the study, conducted by the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault, said they knew of patients being charged for exams. Many responders also said they've seen underserved populations — such as LGBT, Native American or non-English speakers — receive inadequate care when seeking health services for sexual abuse.
"Victims of sexual assault have already suffered a heinous act, and the reason we have these state and federal laws is to protect victims from having to finance treatment," Swanson said. "I was very troubled with the thought that we have these laws out there to protect victims and that hospitals might not be complying with them."
The survey, which included interviews with 139 people, such as medical practitioners and law enforcement, concluded there's a vast misunderstanding of procedures among some health care practitioners. For example, about one-third of survey respondents said they don't know the law well enough to definitively tell victims they will not be charged for an exam, according to the study.
Swanson said she hopes her letter will clarify proper practices. Laws around billing exist both to shield these victims from spendy hospital costs and to encourage them to assist in the arrest and prosecution of sexual assault perpetrators, she said.
"To do that, you need victims to come forward in the first place," said Swanson. "And anything that can be a chilling impact on victims from coming forward is troubling."
