Justices Toss Class Action Challenging Hospital Liens Based on Preset Charges
The putative class action was one of several challenging hospitals' use of standard "chargemaster" prices to file liens against patients' potential recovery in tort actions.
June 30, 2020 at 02:44 PM
5 minute read
The Georgia Supreme Court nixed a putative class action claiming a Columbus hospital committed fraud by placing liens seeking the full amount of medical bills on patients, even though the actual negotiated amount billed and paid may be substantially less.
The decision overturned a trial judge and divided Court of Appeals panel in the closely watched case, the first of several similar class actions that had been lined up against Georgia hospitals. The unanimous opinion, written by Chief Justice Harold Melton, said the claims of the proposed class members were too varied to warrant class status, and should be resolved on a case-by-case basis.
"We always felt like The Medical Center was doing what every hospital across the state has been doing for years," said Hall Booth Smith partner Paul Ivey Jr.
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