UNDER THE PLAN, HOSPITALS WOULD CHECK PATIENTS' MEDICAL BILL PAYMENT HISTORY AFTER DISCHARGE
Mortgage lenders aren't the only ones showing more interest in your credit score these days - the health industry is creating its own score to judge your ability to pay.
The new medFICO score, which is being designed with the help of credit industry giant Fair Isaac, could debut as early as summer in some hospitals.
Already, the score is raising questions from consumer advocacy groups that fear it will be checked before patients are treated. People with low medical credit scores could receive lower-quality care than those with a healthy medFICO, they argue.
"How much assurance do I have that they're not going to look at this medFICO first, before they decide whether to treat or not?" asked Linda Foley, founder of the Identity Theft Resource Center in San Diego.
Stephen Farber, chairman and chief executive of HealthCare Analytics, says that won't happen. Hospitals will check the score, which will be based on the patient's medical bill payment history, only after the patient is discharged, he said.
"We only come into play once the patient has been treated and discharged, and the bill already exists," said Farber, who has visited hospital executives nationwide over the past six months to sell the concept. "We just help figure out what sort of relief a hospital should grant the patient."
HealthCare Analytics, a Waltham, Mass., health technology firm, is developing the score. It is backed by funding from Fair Isaac of Minneapolis;
venture capital firm North Bridge Venture Partners in Massachusetts, and Tenet Healthcare of Dallas. Each kicked in $10 million for the project. In the Bay Area, Tenet operates Community Hospital of Los Gatos and San Ramon Regional Medical Center.
Mercury News - Read Full TextDo we have to guess where this is going?