FL Man Sues After Paying ‘Surprise’ Out-of-Network Emergency Room Bill

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Envision Healthcare Corp., EmCare Holdings Inc., EmCare Inc., and Baxley Emergency Physicians, LLC are facing a proposed class action filed by a Florida man who claims he was improperly billed for emergency room services. The suit explains that the defendants manage hospital emergency departments in Florida and have refused to contract with “many commercial payors,” meaning the doctors they staff are “out-of-network” for a significant number of patients.

“Without network contracts,” the complaint reads, “[the defendants] may set any price for services rendered.”

The suit argues that patients are not informed upon arriving at the emergency room that the doctors and staff treating them are out-of-network and points out that patients are often treated “without any information, choice, or input.” After providing their services, the complaint says, the defendants seek reimbursement from patients’ insurance companies – which will either pay only the “usual and customary rates” or not pay at all – and then hold patients liable for the rest of these “hefty” bills.

Under Florida law, the case alleges, the defendants are not permitted to hold proposed class members accountable for the remaining balance of their medical bills, but the companies allegedly neglect to disclose this fact to patients and instead threaten to send their accounts to debt collectors.