Not-For-Profit Hospitals Class Action Litigation Press Release
Date: Monday, August 23, 2004 at 12:00 PM CDT
Contact: Richard Scruggs
Scruggs Law Firm, P.A.
(662) 281-1212Attorney Richard Scruggs Disputes Alabama AG’s ActionsOxford, MS—August 20, 2004—Richard F. Scruggs issued the following statement today in response to Alabama Attorney General Troy R. King’s statement and petition to appear as amicus curiae in a class action lawsuit against Alabama’s Baptist Health System for price-gouging its uninsured patients.
“The lawsuit against Baptist Health System cannot, nor does it seek to, change the tax-exempt status of Baptist. These lawsuits aim to hold hospitals accountable to the provision of charitable non-profit healthcare in Alabama and other states, which has been abused by the management of hospitals and the AHA to the point where uninsured patients are being grossly overcharged for healthcare.
“We welcome Attorney Generals’ participation in the lawsuits to fulfill their duty to protect their citizens. Attorney Generals in Mississippi, Illinois, Minnesota and Connecticut have all taken positive legal steps towards protecting their citizens against hospital abuses. It is indeed disappointing that Mr. King, predecessor to Attorney General Bill Pryor, is out of step with the nations’ Attorney Generals. However, it is not surprising. Upon Mr. King’s advice, Mr. Pryor took the side of the tobacco industry until the tobacco settlement was announced and then tried to take credit for the settlement. Now, in the lawsuits against abusive nonprofit hospital practices, Mr. King appears to be taking the side of wealthy hospital administrators instead of his uninsured constituents. Based on his record, it appears that Mr. King has never met a lawsuit against a private citizen that he did not love and has never met a lawsuit against a moneyed corporation that he did not hate.
“Contrary to General King’s statement yet consistent with the rating agencies comments on the North Mississippi settlement, reforming nonprofit hospital practices for the benefit of uninsured patients can be a win-win for both patients and the hospitals without impairing the hospital’s financial viability.”
For more information on the nonprofit hospital litigation, go to www.nfplitigation.com.