January 12, 2009:  Court Approves Unprecedented Settlement with Resurrection Health Care System for Uninsured Patients

 

 

 

On September 16, 2004, Mehri & Skalet, PLLC filed a lawsuit in Illinois state court on behalf of uninsured patients against Resurrection Health Care Corporation (Resurrection), a not-for-profit health care system that includes nine hospitals in the Chicago metropolitan area. The suit alleged that Resurrection charged uninsured patients substantially more than patients covered by insurance and failed to provide poor patients with an adequate opportunity to apply for financial assistance with their bills. The suit also alleged that Resurrection employed unjust methods of collecting overdue bills.

 

Resurrection and its hospital affiliates (“Resurrection Hospitals”) are not-for-profit Catholic organizations sponsored by the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth and the Sisters of the Resurrection. The stated mission of the Resurrection Hospitals is to provide compassionate, family-centered care to their communities, including free or reduced-price health care ("Financial Assistance") to patients who cannot afford to pay their Resurrection hospital bills.  

 

Not-for-profit hospitals such as Resurrection have operated free from federal and state taxes because they have promised the government that they would operate as charity providers of health care for the uninsured, and that they would not engage in business "directly or indirectly, for the benefit of private interests."  In reality, some not-for-profit hospitals have historically

Plaintiffs in this lawsuit claimed that Resurrection charged uninsured patients unreasonable rates for the medical services they provided, and as a result breached contracts with Plaintiffs and violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.  Resurrection denied any wrongdoing but agreed to enter into the court-approved settlement.  

 

The settlement is far-reaching and includes changes in Resurrection’s procedures, reductions in rates charged to uninsured patients, changes in collection techniques and policies, and reimbursements for certain past charges. 

The period for submitting claims pursuant to this settlement has passed, more information is available by clicking this link.  For more information, you also may contact the Settlement Administrator: