Uninsured patients file more suits against nonprofit hospitals
Compliance Monitor, July 28, 2004
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Uninsured patients have filed a string of class-action lawsuits against tax-exempt, nonprofit hospitals, alleging they failed to provide charity care to uninsured patients and used aggressive means of collection. As of July 21, there have been 39 suits filed against 340 hospitals in 20 states.
The suits are led by Richard Scruggs, the well-known attorney who sued prominent tobacco companies in the 1990s.
"The Scruggs lawsuits are going to change the industry," says Keith Siddel, MBA PhD, president of HRM Inc., a healthcare consulting company in Dallas. "It's a wake-up call. Everybody realizes they could be in his sights, and that's a scary thing."
The most recent class-action lawsuits filed on or around July 21 include allegations against the following hospitals:
For a complete list of hospitals, visit www.nfplitigation.com.
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