Associated Press, "Catholic Healthcare West agrees to billing lawsuit settlement"
Hospital group Catholic Healthcare West agreed Wednesday to reimburse as many as 800,000 uninsured patients for excessive charges to settle a class-action price-gouging lawsuit. The suit claimed the San Francisco-based health care provider with 40 hospitals in California, Nevada and Arizona routinely charged uninsured patients up to five times the amount paid by private insurers and government programs for the same services. "It's clearly in the hundreds of millions of dollars," plaintiffs' attorney Kelly Dermody said. Lawyers said the deal, which covers overcharges since 2001, also allows patients to be compensated in medical care. For more information about the Catholic Healthcare West settlement, click here.