HAGENS BERMAN

Date Filed: February 23, 2005
Court: Cook County, Illinois Court
Location: Illinois

Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro has filed a class-action complaint against Rush Medical, claiming that the institution is using fraudulent price-gouging tactics to make millions of dollars.

The named plaintiff in the case is Danielle Lebherz, a 28-year-old Chicago resident. In September of 2003, Lebherz came to Rush Medical's Oak Park facility for emergency care. She was discharged less than 24 hours later and billed more than $22,000.

According to the complaint, had Lebherz been covered by an HMO, her insurance company would have been charged only $6,534, a difference of more than $15,000.

Steve Berman, lead attorney for the plaintiff, says that Rush bases its charges on a price list, from which insurance companies negotiate a discount rate. But according to the suit, those who are uninsured are stuck with the highly inflated listed rates.

The suit claims that Rush violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act and benefited from unjust enrichment. It seeks full restitution for potential class members and asks the court to immediately stop Rush from charging self-pay patients a higher rate than its insurance payors.

The potential class includes residents of Illinois that were patients or responsible for patients at various Rush Medical facilities who 1) had no health insurance and were charged the gross price, or 2) had health insurance that was purchased directly from the insurer at the gross price, from February 23, 2000 to the present.

For more information, read the release and complaint.

        

Related Documents

Rush Medical Class-Action Complaint