The Uninsured Get Screwed in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania

Dan Frith

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I know the title of this blog is not politically correct...but it is dead on accurate!

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals [in DiCarlo v. St. Mary Hosp., 530 F.3d 255 (2008)] has ruled that hospitals can charge those individuals without health insurance more than patients who have health insurance. Pretty damn amazing!

Uninsured patients, those who don’t qualify for assistance, or those insured with companies that don’t have a contractual agreement with the hospital are charged the full charge master rates. FamiliesUSA, a grassroots advocacy group for health care consumers, estimated in a March 2007 report that nationwide, insurance companies’ discounts can range from 40 percent to 60 percent off the standard fee. (FamiliesUSA, A Pound of Flesh: Hospital Billing, Debt Collection, and Patients’ Rights)

The Third Circuit found that “courts are ill-equipped to determine what reasonable hospital costs are, or to make a policy determination on behalf of the legislative branch.” Courts can and do decide when life begins...who should receive the death sentence...the appropriateness of millions of dollars in damages...and the list goes on and on. Pretty important and complicated issues.

For the court to say it cannot determine what hospital costs and charges are reasonable is truly unbelievable! Who appointed these justices...Big Business?