LOS ANGELES, Aug. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. Superior Court Judge Wendell Mortimer yesterday granted approval of a proposed settlement between Tenet Healthcare Corporation and uninsured patients who received care at Tenet facilities nationwide.
The suit was originally filed in 2002 and alleged that uninsured patients were charged an excessive “gross charge” at 114 hospitals owned and operated by Tenet Healthcare in 16 states. The suit claimed that Tenet took advantage of the uninsured and working poor who do not have the economic leverage to negotiate lower rates, while giving discounts to HMO’s and large payers.
Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro and lead counsel for the plaintiffs, said that the settlement is a victory for the uninsured.
“We are pleased with the outcome of this case and feel that the settlement is an important step toward fair pricing for all patients,” Berman said. “This settlement proves that the uninsured have a voice and will be heard, and that hospitals must be held to a higher standard in their treatment of the working poor.”
According to the terms of the settlement, Tenet will refund amounts paid in excess of certain pricing thresholds. The specific percentage of reimbursement varies depending on the year the patient was treated.
Tenet Healthcare also agreed to offer uninsured patients the same rate that it offers its managed care clients, for a period of four years.
Steve Berman noted that Tenet Healthcare’s concessions are significant for uninsured patients, stating, “This settlement evokes change in Tenet’s pricing policies and offers real value to patients. Moving forward, the settlement also has a broader reach by guaranteeing that uninsured patients will receive discounts.”
The settlement class includes all uninsured patients who received medically necessary services at any of Tenet Healthcare’s hospitals between June 15, 1999 and December 31, 2004, and paid for services based on the “gross charge.”
Tenet Healthcare has made no admission of wrongdoing. More information can be found at www.hbsslaw.com. About Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is a law firm with offices in Seattle, Cambridge, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. The firm has developed a nationally recognized practice in class-action litigation. The firm is co-lead counsel in litigation to recover losses from Enron employees’ retirement funds, and represented Washington and 12 other states in lawsuits against the tobacco industry that resulted in the largest settlement in the history of litigation. The firm also served as counsel in several other high-profile cases including the Washington Public Power Supply litigation, which resulted in a settlement of more than $850 million, and the $92.5 million settlement of The Boeing Company litigation. Other notable cases include litigation involving the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Average Wholesale Price Drug litigation, United Airlines litigation, Exxon Mobile Securities litigation, and Louisiana Pacific Siding litigation.
CONTACTS: Steve Berman (206) 623-7292 Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro steve@hbsslaw.com Mark Firmani (206) 443-9357 Firmani & Associates, Inc. mark@firmani.com
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro
CONTACT: Steve Berman of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, +1-206-623-7292 orsteve@hbsslaw.com; or Mark Firmani of Firmani & Associates, Inc.,+1-206-443-9357 or mark@firmani.com, for Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro
Web site: http://www.hbsslaw.com/
