Saturday, August 07, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Hospitals sued over charges for uninsured

Two Las Vegas patients claim medical care cost much more than the insured

The owners of six Las Vegas hospitals charge uninsured patients up to six times more than the insured, two lawsuits filed Friday in District Court allege.

In addition, the lawsuits filed on behalf of Deborah Louise Poblocki, who had a hernia operation in 2002, and Diane McGuire, who was hospitalized after an asthma attack this year, allege that collection practices by the health care corporations are "coercive, unfair and fraudelent," often employing property liens and wage garnishment.

Named in the lawsuit are Universal Health Services Inc. and HCA Inc., the two largest operators of hospitals in Las Vegas.

King of Prussia, Pa.-based UHS owns Valley Hospital Medical Center, Desert Springs Hospital Medical Center, Summerlin Hospital Medical Center and Spring Valley Hospital Medical Center.

HCA owns MountainView Hospital and Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center.

No damages are specified in the lawsuits, but Alabama attorney Archie Lamb Jr., the attorney of record, alleges that hundreds of millions of dollars have been collected fraudelently by UHS and HCA.

Poblocki, a Las Vegas resident, said Friday that research by her attorneys determined that Valley Hospital charged her at least twice what the insured pay for comparable medical care.

"It's just not fair," she said. "It's got to stop. Nobody is talking about getting something for free. We're talking about being fair to everyone."

The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee is currently investigating hospital billing practices of the uninsured.

McGuire, who went to MountainView for her care, was unavailable for comment. The Las Vegas resident was charged more than $50,000 for seven days of treatment, more than double, her attorneys allege, what an insured patient would pay.

Nevada law states that a "major hospital shall reduce or discount the total bill charge by at least 30 percent to an inpatient" who "has no insurance or other contractual provision for the payment of the charge by a third party."

Lamb brought a similar lawsuit against Health Management Associates Inc. in Miami. Class action status is being sought by Lamb on all three lawsuits.

Chris Cantrell, an associate of Lamb's, said Friday that insurance companies negotiate lower rates for their clients while the uninsured are forced to pay far more.

HCA spokesman Jeff Prescott agreed that insurance companies do negotiate favorable rates for their insured customers. However, he said HCA launched a discount program in March 2003 for the uninsured and also agreed to not put a lien on homes worth less than $300,000.

Michael Tymczyn, marketing director for the Valley Health System, said UHS "believes that its hospitals are in compliance with all applicable laws relating to the billing to and collection from their patients."

Neither Prescott nor Tymczyn would reveal what insured patients would pay for the care that Poblocki and McGuire received.

In addition to free charity care that HCA does for the severely impoverished, Prescott said its discount program, based on a sliding scale in relation to the federal poverty level, gives uninsured patients up to a 65 percent discount. Prescott said the federal government has made it difficult to give the uninsured discounts, but Lamb's lawsuit disputes that, quoting an official Office of Inspector General report that states no authority "prohibits or restricts hospitals from offering discounts to uninsured patients who arae unable to pay hospital bills."

Poblocki, a full-time hairdresser in 2002, when she had to undergo outpatient treatment for a hernia, said her grandparents had to pay half of the nearly $10,000 charge for her hernia operation before Valley officials would perform her operation. After she suffered an infection as a result of the operation, Valley officials again charged her $10,000 for treatment. She used a credit card for $10,000 in charges and still owes the hospital money.

"They had a lawyer harrassing me and calling me all the time," she said.