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Suit filed against Advocate,
other hospitals over charity care
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JUNE 2004 (Reuters)
- Several
nonprofit hospitals are the target of a series of lawsuits
that claimed they failed to provide charity care to the
uninsured, attorney Richard Scruggs said on Thursday.
Scruggs, a Mississippi attorney who helped win a
multibillion dollar settlement from the tobacco industry,
said 13 lawsuits were filed against several leading
nonprofit hospitals and the American Hospital Association, a
trade group representing hospitals.
The lawsuits contend that the hospitals charge uninsured
patients undiscounted prices and then use aggressive
collection methods, including the seizure of assets and
garnishing of wages. These cases accuse the hospitals of
breaches of contract, breaches of good faith and fair
dealing, breaches of charitable trust, consumer fraud and
violations of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active
Labor Act (EMTALA). EMTALA requires that hospitals treat
patients in emergency cases regardless of whether they are
insured or not. The lawsuits contend the hospitals would not
admit a patient unless the patient agreed to pay charges in
full.
Alicia Mitchell, a spokeswoman for the American Hospital
Association, said: "This will consume already limited health
care resources that hospitals need to provide care for the
uninsured and the other people in the communities they
serve." The association is still reviewing the case, but it
is "misdirected" and "baseless." "Hospitals have a strong
historical commitment to the uninsured," Mitchell said. The
association has set up guidelines for hospitals to follow to
work out arrangements for the uninsured and collecting
unpaid patient bills from them.
John Jacob, a health care attorney at Akin Gump in
Washington who has represented hospitals, said it is
unlikely these cases would be certified as a class action.
Jacob said he also finds it ironic these cases are being
filed when hospitals provide hundreds of millions of dollars
in charity care.
Hospitals or hospital groups named as defendants in the
lawsuits include: Advocate Health Care Network and Provena
Health, Illinois; Fairview Health Systems and Allina Health,
Minnesota; Catholic Health Care Partners, Ohio; East
Texasedical Center Regional Healthcare System, Texas; Phoebe
Putney Health Systems Inc., DeKalb Medical Center, Medical
Center of Central Georgia Inc. and Wellstar Health Systems
Inc., Georgia; Baptist Health Systems Inc., Alabama; Baptist
Hospital of Miami Inc, Florida; and St. Thomas Hospital of
Tennessee.
© Reuters 2004. All rights reserved.. |
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