The Supreme Court of California dismissed a lawsuit arguing that hospitals not showing certain costs in emergency care prior to treatment violate state laws, ruling the institutions are not obligated to disclose such fees.
The ruling was made following a class action lawsuit filed by plaintiff Taylor Capito against San Jose Healthcare System, also known as Regional Medical Center San Jose. In 2019, Capito was treated twice at the medical center’s emergency department, paying more than $41,000. She filed a complaint against the center in 2020, accusing the medical center of not providing advance notice of evaluation and management services (EMS) fees.
She alleged that this amounted to an “unlawful, unfair or fraudulent business” practice as per California’s Unfair Competition Law (UCL) and violated the state’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA)….