This amicus brief was filed on June 25, 2021, by Colorado Consumer Health Initiative (CCHI), Colorado Center on Law and Policy (CCLP); and Colorado Legal Services (CLS) on behalf of the petitioner in French v Centura Health.
After the Colorado Supreme Court agreed to hear the patient’s appeal, CCLP felt it was vital to join the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative and Colorado Legal Services in an amicus brief to shed light on the policy reasons in favor of overturning the court of appeals’ opinion. Specifically, the court of appeals’ opinion would have inevitably resulted in price discrimination against low-income individuals and people of color, both of whom are more likely to be uninsured or seek out-of-network care. The brief explains that many will be unable to pay and will fall into bankruptcy over medical costs that they may not have been able to avoid. The brief also points out that the court of appeals opinion ignores basic contract principles and thus allows hospitals to continue arbitrarily increasing the costs of services.
Thankfully, on May 16, 2022, the Colorado Supreme Court unanimously reversed the lower court’s opinion, holding that Ms. French could not agree to a price term that was never disclosed to her. The Court also noted that Centura had refused to even turn over the chargemaster during the course of the litigation. However, even if the hospital had disclosed the chargemaster, it would have been impossible for Ms. French to interpret the tens of thousands of codes within it. It was therefore appropriate for the jury to determine the reasonable cost of care.
Read more about French v Centura Health in the New York Times and Washington Post., or in CCLP’s article on the case here.
