John Muir Health $700,000 ER Overcharging Settlement

Patients who received emergency medical services at a John Muir Health hospital between Oct. 4, 2018, and Dec. 31, 2022, and had Kaiser insurance or no insurance may be eligible to receive a cash refund or account credit from a class action settlement.

John Muir Health Inc. agreed to pay $696,266.39 to settle a class action lawsuit alleging it overcharged certain patients for a specific urine test in its emergency departments regardless of their insurance status or lack thereof.

Who are the class members?

Class members must meet all of the following criteria:

• They received medical services at a John Muir Health hospital emergency department between Oct. 4, 2018, and Dec. 31, 2022.
• The services included the urine test that is the subject of the lawsuit.
• They had Kaiser insurance or no insurance at the time of service.
• John Muir Health held them financially responsible for services rendered in an amount beyond a flat fee insurance deductible.

John Muir Health’s records identified 289 people who meet these criteria.

There is also a subclass within the main class for those who, on or after Oct. 4, 2021, received bills for medical services rendered during the visit that stated their accounts were past due.

Of the 289 class members, 63 are also members of this subclass.

If class members received a postcard or email about this settlement, John Muir Health’s records identified them as a class member.

How much can class members get?

The settlement is designed to return class members to the financial position they would have been in if John Muir Health had not charged for the urine test. The amount each class member will receive depends on their individual circumstances, such as insurance coverage, what they paid and any outstanding balances.

Each class member will receive either a cash refund payment or an adjustment to their account balance. For those who still owe John Muir Health, the company will apply the credit to reduce their balance. For those who do not owe a balance or whose credit exceeds their balance, the settlement administrator will refund the remainder by check up to the total amount they actually paid for the entire medical encounter on that date.

• The total cash refund payments to class members is $59,483.22.
• The total credits to class members’ unpaid account balances is $636,783.17.

The settlement also provides an additional $750 credit to each member of the subclass for resolving claims related to allegedly unfair debt collection.

How is the award calculated?

The settlement uses a formula to determine how much less each class member would have personally paid or owed to John Muir Health if the price for the urine test had been zero. This calculation takes into account insurance benefits and other discounts.

No action needed to receive compensation

Class members do not need to file a claim to receive compensation.

Class members who need to update their address to ensure prompt payment can email their full name, previous address and current address to info@JohnMuirHealthClassActionSettlement.com or mail the information to the settlement administrator.

Settlement administrator's mailing address: John Muir Health Class Action, c/o Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 2467, Portland, OR 97208-2467

Payout options

• Cash refund by check (for those who do not owe a balance or whose credit exceeds their balance)
• Account credit (for those who still owe John Muir Health)

$700,000 settlement fund breakdown

The $696,266.39 settlement fund covers:

• Cash refund payments to class members: $59,483.22
• Credits to class members’ unpaid account balances: $636,783.17

John Muir Health will also pay up to $600,000 in attorneys’ fees and expenses.

Important dates

• Deadline for exclusion: March 5, 2026
• Fairness hearing: April 2, 2026

When is the John Muir Health class action settlement payout date?

The settlement administrator will distribute payments or credits approximately six days after the court resolves any appeals and grants final approval of the settlement.

Why did this class action settlement happen?

The class action lawsuit alleged that John Muir Health emergency departments overcharged certain patients for a specific urine test between Oct. 4, 2018, and Dec. 31, 2022.

John Muir Health denied these allegations. Rather than proceed to trial, the parties negotiated a settlement to resolve claims for all class members. The court has not decided who is right.

Sources

1. Class notice
2. Stipulation of settlement
3. Settlement FAQ