Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP

California Insurance Commissioner Joins Litigation to Stop False Hospital Bills

San Francisco, CA -- This lawsuit seeks recovery for the false anesthesia charges that the Sutter Hospitals makes in virtually every bill Sutter submits involving a surgical procedure in one of its hospital operating rooms.

Photo: California State Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones
and Lieff Cabraser Partner Robert J. Nelson.

Bert Forman, M.D., President of Rockville Recovery Associates, Limited, issued the following comment today in response to the submission of a "Complaint in Intervention" by California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones in the qui tam, or whistleblower, litigation against Sutter Hospitals and Multiplan, Inc.:

"According to my investigation, Sutter's fraudulent billing for anesthesia services often added thousands of dollars to patient bills, and those bills often surpassed the bills submitted by the anesthesiologists for the same procedure. Sutter was unable to explain the basis of these costly charges. Ultimately, this practice hurts patients and their employers, who are forced to cover the higher premiums inevitably caused by these charges."

The amount of the false charges per bill is often in the thousands of dollars, and sometimes dwarfs what the anesthesiologist separately bills for his or services.

Robert J. Nelson of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, which serves as co-counsel for Rockville Recovery Associates Limited, added: "These false charges are passed on to the consumers of health care in the form of higher health insurance premiums, and so play an important role in the skyrocketing costs of health insurance premiums in northern California. We are extremely grateful that the Insurance Commissioner has brought the resources of his Department to the litigation and will be working with us to end the alleged fraud."

Persons interested in the Sutter Hospitals false anesthesia charges litigation can learn more about the case on our website.

About Lieff Cabraser

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, is a sixty-plus attorney law firm with offices in San Francisco, New York, and Nashville. We are among the largest law firms in the United States that only represent plaintiffs. Since our founding in 1972, we have been committed to achieving justice for investors, consumers, employees, patients, and small business owners, promoting safer products and fair competition, protecting our environment, and remedying violations of the civil rights of persons worldwide.

Lieff Cabraser has an active practice representing whistleblowers in False Claims Act cases.

Source/Contact

Robert. J. Nelson
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP
415-956-1000