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Scruggs moves to state level in suits against nonprofits for treatment of uninsured

Patient Financial Services Weekly Advisor, February 11, 2005

Richard Scruggs, a lead attorney in the national class action litigation against nonprofit hospitals, announced February 8 he will launch a second major "legal offensive" through the filing of class-action lawsuits in state courts.

Based in Oxford, MS, Scruggs began filing class-action lawsuits against hospitals in June 2004 for alleged improper billing and collection practices to uninsured patients.

Scruggs said the state actions will operate on a similar track to those now underway in federal court and will include new state lawsuits against nonprofit hospitals who have not yet been named in the litigation.

The federal litigation against nonprofit hospitals names 68 cases in 23 states, which involves 60 nonprofit hospital systems. Of these cases, 43 are pending in federal courts and 25 are in state courts.

"Under state laws, uninsured patients have been victimized by nonprofit hospitals, through illegal acts in areas such as consumer fraud; breach of contract; deceptive business practices; unfair and predatory debt collection practices; and breach of usury limits," Scruggs says.

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