PORTLAND, Ore. – A settlement was reached Tuesday in a closely watched trial class action lawsuit filed on behalf of uninsured patients who claim a non-profit hospital major overloaded. Complaint alleges that Providence Hospital System contradicted its mission to ensure access to health care of uninsured patients higher rates for the same services as other patients.
The agreement, if approved by the court, will affect tens of thousands of lower income Oregonian, lawyers say. This is a historic agreement and it will, said Brian Campf, an attorney representing uninsured patients. Similar lawsuits have been filed against hundreds of hospitals in at least 27 states where nonprofit hospitals exempt Tax higher prices for uninsured patients than insured patients.
The regulation covers medical expenses for uninsured patients at hospitals in Providence in September Oregon over six years, four years and the next two years. All fees will be recalculated.
The trial is part of a national campaign Richard Scruggs, a Mississippi lawyer who helped win settlements of billions of dollars with the tobacco industry in the 1990s to pay for states associated with smoking costs care. Other hospitals across the country should seriously consider that option, said Sid Bäckström, spokesman for the Scruggs law firm.