Consumer Class Action Lawsuit Against Tenet Healthcare Settled
See the settlement agreement reached March 10, 2005.
See Notice of Settlement.
Lerach Coughlin attorneys filed a class action lawsuit on December 3, 2002, against Tenet Healthcare Corporation ("Tenet"). The lawsuit was been filed on behalf of consumers who paid grossly inflated unfair prices for prescription drugs, pharmaceuticals, and pharmaceutical supplies at Tenet-owned hospitals (see list below).
Tenet is the second-largest for-profit private hospital chain in the U.S. Through its subsidiaries, Tenet owns and operates 114 hospitals nationwide, the bulk of which operate in California. As recently reported in the media, Tenet hospitals charge grossly-inflated amounts for prescription drugs and pharmaceutical supplies, an average of 736 percent above cost nationwide, and an average of 1,037 above cost in California. The Sierra Vista Hospital in San Luis Obispo, for example, was at the top of the list, marking up drugs 1,841 percent above cost. The Doctors Medical Center of San Pablo had a rate of approximately 1,379 percent, and the Redding Medical Center was found to have marked up its costs approximately 1,464 percent.
Plaintiffs alleged in the lawsuit that Tenet's excessive charges for prescription drugs and pharmaceutical supplies are an unlawful and unfair business practice in violation of California's consumer protection laws. Plaintiffs allege that consumers generally, but also particularly vulnerable groups such as the ill, the elderly, or those living in areas where there is no other hospital, are forced to bear the costs of Tenet's extreme mark-up of prescription drugs prices. Simply put, plaintiffs allege that Tenet pricing policies and practices are taking advantage of consumers when they are at their most vulnerable. For example, Tenet charged one patient more than $74,000 for prescription drugs and pharmaceutical supplies in connection with his 12-day stay in hospital.
If you have been impacted by Tenet's drug and pharmaceutical pricing policies, and have paid money out of your own pocket, you may be eligible to join the lawsuit.
If you wish to discuss this action with us, or have any questions concerning your rights and interests with regard to the case, please contact the following attorney:
Reed Kathrein (reedk@lerachlaw.com)
100 Pine Street, 26th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94111
Telephone: (415) 288-4545
Tenet hospitals throughout the U.S. include the following:
| ALABAMA Brookwood Medical Center
San Dimas Community Hospital FLORIDA
|
LOUISIANA
Doctors Hospital of Jefferson
Kenner Regional Medical Center
Meadowcrest Hospital
Memorial Medical Center
NorthShore Psychiatric Hospital
NorthShore Regional Medical Center
St. Charles General Hospital
MASSACHUSETTS
MetroWest Medical Center
Saint Vincent Hospital
MISSISSIPPI
Gulf Coast Medical Center
MISSOURI
Des Peres Hospital
Forest Park Hospital
Saint Louis University Hospital
SouthPointe Hospital
St. Alexius Hospital
Three Rivers Healthcare
Twin Rivers Regional Medical Center
NEBRASKA
Saint Joseph Hospital
NEVADA
Lake Mead Hospital Medical Center
NORTH CAROLINA
Central Carolina Hospital
Frye Regional Medical Center
PENNSYLVANIA
Elkins Park Hospital
Graduate Hospital
Hahnemann University Hospital
Medical College of Pennsylvania Hospital
Parkview Hospital
Roxborough Memorial Hospital
St. Christopher's Hospital for Children
Warminster Hospital
SOUTH CAROLINA
East Cooper Regional Medical Center
Hilton Head Medical Center and Clinics
Piedmont Healthcare System
TENNESSEE
Harton Regional Medical Center
Saint Francis Hospital
University Medical Center
TEXAS
Brownsville Medical Center
Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center
Doctors Hospital of Dallas
Houston Northwest Medical Center
Lake Pointe Medical Center
Nacogdoches Medical Center
Park Plaza Hospital
Plaza Specialty Hospital
RHD Memorial Medical Center
Shelby Regional Medical Center
Sierra Providence Health Network
Trinity Medical Center
Twelve Oaks Medical Center