Government
Ore. judge approves class action against hospital system
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Oct. 24, 2005
An Oregon judge approved class-action status in early October for a lawsuit filed on behalf of uninsured patients and accusing a Portland-based hospital system of overcharging them. The suit says Legacy Health System consistently billed uninsured patients at a much higher rate for services than it charged insurers. The hospitals named in the lawsuit are Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital and Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland and Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center in Gresham.
Attorneys representing the patients said the lawsuit is part of a nationwide case against nonprofit hospitals over the prices they charge the uninsured.
In his letter certifying the complaint as a class action, Circuit Judge Richard C. Baldwin said the plaintiffs have established that the hospital system "billed plaintiffs and proposed class members at their highest rates for medical services without disclosing those rates until after medical services are provided." However, he excluded from the class patients who applied for and received a charity discount.
In a statement, Legacy officials said the system charges everyone the same rate for services, but some insurers negotiate group discounts. The system also said it offers financial assistance to indigent, uninsured or underinsured patients.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005/10/24/gvbf1024.htm.
