Hospitals settle suit filed by uninsured patients Chicago Tribune
An agreement approved Monday resolves claims covering more than 200,000 patients of Resurrection Health Care, one of the area’s largest hospital systems. The lawsuit, filed in 2004, alleged Resurrection hospitals overcharged uninsured patients by millions of dollars.
A truck driver, a homemaker married to a plumber and a woman who works at a trophy company were among the low-income, uninsured patients named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit. They claimed no one told them about the hospitals’ charity care programs and collection agencies hounded them when they didn’t pay their bills.
“We thought it was fundamentally unfair to charge uninsured patients two to three times what insured patients were paying,” said Washington, D.C. attorney Steve Skalet, who helped represent the plaintiffs. The lawsuit claimed the hospitals violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.
In the settlement, Resurrection agreed to modify its billing structure and reduce charges to uninsured patients. The hospitals will recalculate bills for those who file claims and give refunds and vouchers to people who have already paid $500 or more.
Patients may be eligible for vouchers or discounts if they got care at Resurrection hospitals from Sept. 16, 2001, to Sept. 23, 2008.
Claims must be filed by Feb. 16. Claim forms are available online at www.resclassaction.com.
The lawsuit and other similar litigation has led to two new laws in Illinois that protect uninsured patients, Skalet said. A 2006 law sets standards for hospital bill collectors. A 2008 law that goes into effect in April puts a ceiling on charges to the uninsured. |
