Oregon hospital settles over uninsured patients

A hospital in Oregon settled its class action lawsuit last week:

PORTLAND, Ore. - A settlement was reached Tuesday in a closely watched class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of uninsured patients who claim a major nonprofit hospital system overcharged them.

The complaint alleges that Providence Hospital System contradicted its stated mission of providing universal access to health care by charging uninsured patients higher rates for the same services than other patients.

The agreement, if approved by the court, will affect tens of thousands of low-income Oregonians, attorneys say. “This is a historic agreement and it will stick,” said Brian Campf, an attorney representing uninsured patients.

Similar lawsuits have been filed against hundreds of hospitals in at least 27 states, alleging that tax-exempt nonprofit hospitals charge higher prices to uninsured patients than insured patients.

The settlement covers medical charges to uninsured patients at seven Providence hospitals in Oregon over a six-year period, going back four years and the next two years. All charges will be recalculated.

Here’s more:

The lawsuit is part of a national campaign headed by Richard Scruggs, a Mississippi attorney who helped win multibillion-dollar settlements with the tobacco industry in the 1990s to pay states for smoking-related health care costs.

“Other hospitals around the country should take a hard look at this” settlement, said Sid Backstrom, spokesman for the Scruggs law firm.