IF businessman launches medical consumer protection fund
Idaho Falls businessman Frank VanderSloot and his wife, Belinda, announced Thursday that they are establishing a fund to defend east Idahoans from tactics used by overly aggressive medical debt collectors.
The VanderSloots established a $500,000 consumer protection fund for individuals who have been charged excessive attorney fees. At the same time, the couple is calling on state lawmakers to update Idaho laws to protect citizens from unscrupulous practices.
The VanderSloots were inspired to create this new fund after Medical Recovery Services (MRS), an Idaho Falls-based collection agency specializing in medical debt, billed a Melaleuca employee $5,864.25 in legal fees and costs on a now-paid $294 medical expense. After the employee’s case was reported, Vander Sloot said dozens of people came forward with similar stories.
The principals of MRS are Idaho Falls attorneys Bryan Smith and Bryan Zollinger. Zollinger is currently serving as a Republican State Representative in the Idaho Legislature.
In a public letter establishing the fund, VanderSloot is clear that he believes people should be responsible for paying their bills and that providers have rights to collect for their services. The fund will not help people avoid paying legitimate bills. But, the fund will defend people from “unscrupulous, unreasonable, or unnecessary attorney fees.
He also called for stronger consumer protection laws to protect citizens.
Anyone from southeast Idaho with medical bills who believes they’ve been unfairly treated may be a candidate for protection. You may contact the fund confidentially at 208-534-2208, send an e-mail to idahomedicaldebt@gmail.com or visit the Idaho Medical Debt Facebook page.
You can read VanderSloot’s public letter here.
Idaho Falls Attorney Bryan Smith provided this response:
We take our professional and ethical obligations very seriously. In representing the interests of our clients, we always ensure to follow all applicable rules, regulations and statutes — as well as our professional ethical obligations. When collecting owed debts – earned by medical professionals — our practices are fully supported by the applicable laws of our highly regulated industry, and the court determines post-judgment fees on a case-by-case basis. The fees in question are for the time and resources we have invested in these cases to best support our clients.
