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Scripps Health Uninsured Pricing
Class Action Lawsuit
  
Background
This class action originated on July 19, 2006, when uninsured patient Phillip Franklin filed a class action cross-complaint against Scripps Health, a not-for-profit hospital system based in San Diego, after Scripps sued Mr. Franklin through a collection agency. Mr. Franklin was uninsured at the time of treatment.
Mr. Franklin alleged that he, like other uninsured patients at Scripps, was charged unreasonable, unconscionable and excessive rates for his treatment. In June 2007, the Court granted the case class action status. The Court also appointed Mr. Franklin as the Class Representative and Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP to serve as Class Counsel.
Scripps Health operates the following hospitals in the San Diego area: Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas, Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista, Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, Scripps Mercy Hospital, and Scripps Green Hospital. Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista became a campus of Scripps Mercy Hospital in October 2004.
Case Status: Settlement Reached
On January 31, 2008, Kelly M. Dermody of Lieff Cabraser announced that the parties had settled the class action lawsuit against Scripps regarding pricing and collection practices for uninsured patients at its affiliate hospitals. Ms. Dermody is court-appointed lead counsel for the Class. Read a copy of the January 31, 2008 press release.
On February 1, 2008, San Diego County Superior Court Judge Steven R. Denton granted preliminary approval to the settlement, which resolves the Class Representative and Class member claims against Scripps and its affiliated hospitals. Click here to read a copy of the Preliminary Approval Order.
As part of the settlement, Class members will be entitled to make a claim for 35% refunds or deductions from their prior hospital bills for treatment occurring between July 19, 2002 and the date of preliminary settlement approval. Low-income uninsureds may also seek to qualify their past bills for free or reduced care beyond the 35% discount.
Scripps has also agreed to maintain compassionate pricing and collections policies going forward, including across-the-board discounts for all uninsured patients, regardless of income; enhanced charity discounts to enable moderate-income uninsureds to receive even greater discounts; financial counseling to uninsured patients to help them qualify for discounted pricing or receive extended payment plans; increased communications to uninsureds about Scripps pricing policies; and limits on collections practices and collections lawsuits. In addition, Scripps has agreed to maintain its uninsured pricing and collections policies going forward for at least four years, among other things. Scripps denies wrongdoing and liability in the case.
Settlement Class
The proposed Settlement Class includes any patient who:
(1) from July 19, 2002 to the date of the Court’s preliminary approval order;
(2) received any form of medical treatment as a result of initially presenting at the Emergency Department of a Scripps hospital or affiliate;
(3) were uninsured at the time of treatment; and
(4) did not receive any discount or waiver of the charges for treatment.
Further Information
Class members who wish for further information on the settlement may contact a Lieff Cabraser attorney by clicking here. This page will be updated with copies of the settlement notice and claim forms for class members following review and approval by the Court.
About Lieff Cabraser
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP is a fifty-plus attorney law firm that has represented plaintiffs nationwide since 1972. We have offices in San Francisco, New York and Nashville. We represent plaintiffs in class and group actions and in individual lawsuits in cases involving substantial losses. For the last five years, the National Law Journal has selected Lieff Cabraser as one of the top plaintiffs' law firms in the nation.
Notice
This website is sponsored by Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, a national plaintiffs' law firm.
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E-Mail: mail@lchb.com
Firm Website: www.lieffcabraser.com
Notice: Lieff Cabraser attorneys provide legal advice and practice law for clients in federal district courts throughout the United States and in state courts where we are licensed to practice. In states in which our lawyers are not licensed to practice, we have affiliations with local attorneys who serve as co-counsel with our firm. Please read our disclaimer.
Copyright © 2008 Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP
 

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