A class action lawsuit against Envision Healthcare Corp. alleges the physician staffing firm engaged in "balance-billing" for emergency services. Here are five insights:
1. "Balance-billing" typically occurs when healthcare providers bill patients for charges not covered by insurance when they receive out-of-network medical care. Patients may unknowingly receive care from out-of-network providers at in-network healthcare facilities.
2. Florida law prohibits balance-billing emergency room patients, whose extenuating circumstances limit their ability to choose in-network treatment.
3. Envision and its affiliates are accused of billing and collecting payments from patients who received emergency medical services from out-of-network providers at in-network facilities.
4. The complaint seeks damages for former patients that Envision allegedly billed in violation of Florida law. It also seeks to prevent Envision and its affiliates from engaging in balance-billing.
5. The lawsuit was filed Feb. 8 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, but the counsel is investigating whether Envision also violated balance-billing laws in California, Illinois and New Jersey.