Accretive Health CEO Mary Tolan has pledged to fully respond to questions that Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., posed last month about the company's debt-collection tactics and patient-privacy practices at Fairview hospitals.
Speaking with Wall Street analysts, Tolan said she plans to have answers by Friday to Franken's questions, plus a response to a blistering report that Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson compiled on the Chicago-based firm.
Her comments came in a previously scheduled call to discuss Accretive's latest financial results, but the issue of Swanson's report came up in conversations with the analysts.
Accretive has already missed two deadlines, May 4 and 7, that Franken set to respond to his questions. The company is confident it will meet Franken's latest deadline and have response to the senator by the end of business Friday, said Jonathan Dedmon, an Accretive spokesman.
In a statement on Thursday, Franken said, "I requested information from Accretive because I am concerned about the allegations in Attorney General Swanson's report and I want to hear all sides of this story. The amount of time that I gave Accretive to respond ...was more than reasonable and I'm frustrated that I still don't have a response yet."
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel entered the debate this week, asking Swanson to back off Accretive until the company is ready to respond to the report and allegations.
Swanson has vowed to press on.