PHILADELPHIA — Medical facilities have filed a class action lawsuit against Lancaster General Hospital and others, citing alleged unjust enrichment and violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
St. Luke's Health Network Inc. and others filed a complaint individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated on May 22, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against the defendants alleging that they breached the duty of good faith and fair dealing.
According to the complaint, the plaintiffs allege that starting 2010, St. Luke's Health Network Inc. and others similarly situated have suffered from the fraudulent and unlawful conduct of the defendants in submitting massive numbers of invalid and overstated claims to Pennsylvania's Extraordinary Expense Program (the EE Program), that maintains funds to compensate hospitals for their charity care.
The plaintiffs hold Lancaster General Hospital responsible because it allegedly retained and benefited from grossly inflated claims to the EE program, at the expense of the state's neediest citizens and hospitals that actually provide charity care to those citizens, and failed to correct the false and fraudulent submissions of its agents.
The plaintiffs request a trial by jury. They are represented by Cooper & Kirk PLLC and Webber McGill LLC.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Case number 18-cv-02157