The Chicago-based consulting firm wants a federal judge to throw out a second amended complaint filed by Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson after more patients came forward accusing the company of overly aggressive billing and collection tactics, the Pioneer Press reports. Accretive Health is accused of violating state and federal privacy laws, state debt collection laws and state consumer protection laws through its work with Minneapolis-based Fairview Health Services.

Accretive Health Inc.'s quarterly results missed analysts' expectations, and the medical billing services company cut its full-year forecast after it settled a lawsuit and shut down its operations in Minnesota. The company in July said it would wind down its Minnesota operations to settle a 6-month-old lawsuit by the state. The suit accused Accretive of aggressive collection tactics.

Executives from the medical debt collector will be in Washington, D.C. on Friday to address concerns about the companies practices. Last week, Minnesota Attorney General accused the Chicago-based firm of using aggressive collection tactics at Fairview Health Services. Accretive Health has denied any wrong doing.

Rahm Emanuel, who was also chief of staff in the Obama Administration, has asked Minnesota's Attorney General Lori Swanson to "cease efforts to publicly prosecute this matter and rather try to resolve the matter privately." Swanson has accused the Chicago-based collection company of overly-aggressive practices to retrieve payments from patients. Emanuel also defended and praised Accretive Health.

The aggressive practices used by the Chicago-based Accrective Health to collect debt from patients could put Fairview's University of Minnesota Medical Center at risk of being terminated from Medicare and Medicaid, according to the Star Tribune. Federal documents obtained by the newspaper show patients and their relatives were subjected to "abuse and harassment'' from debt collectors while waiting for treatment.

Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson has filed more court papers expanding on the state's lawsuit against Accretive Health Services. Two dozen affidavits from hospital patients say the collection agency pressured them for payment while they were awaiting treatments. The suit claims Accretive violated collection laws and patient privacy rights. The company says the lawsuit contains mischaracterizations and distortions.

Records show that just months after consulting firm Accretive swept into the Fairview health care system with a new approach to collecting money from patients, hospital employees were expressing alarm and frustration, the Star Tribune reports. "We are giving the image that we are money-hungry," one employee said. Said another: "The patients are being bombarded by phone calls."

A settlement agreement in Minnesota's lawsuit against Accretive Health Services will keep the consulting firm from doing business in the state for at least two years. Accretive also agreed to pay $2.5 million in restitution to patients, although the company says it is admitting no wrongdoing. Attorney General Lori Swanson sued Accretive over aggressive payment collection, alleging the company invaded patients' privacy and subjected some to emergency room shakedowns before they'd been treated.