Ville Platte Medical Center Class Action Lawsuit

 

CLASS ACTION LEGAL NOTICE

 

Ville Platte Medical Center is a hospital system with campuses in both Ville Platte, Louisiana and Eunice, Louisiana.  Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana is a health insurer which writes health insurance policies in this state.  Ville Platte Medical Center and Blue Cross/Blue Shield are defendants in a lawsuit filed as Gloria Vallare, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Ville Platte Medical Center, LLC and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, No. 72711 “A”.  The settlement relates to this lawsuit.

 

A settlement has been reached in the above class action lawsuit.  The allegations in the suit against Ville Platte Medical Center, LLC are that it improperly billed and/or collected from patients who had health insurance and who were treated in in emergency rooms at Ville Platte Medical Center, Eunice Community Medical Center and Mercy Regional Medical Center for injuries from motor vehicle accidents.  The allegations against Blue Cross/Blue Shield are that it failed to prevent and/or notify Ville Platte Medical Center that such billing practices were not authorized under certain agreements.

 

The Court has granted preliminary approval to the creation of a $1,510,000.00 settlement fund to settle all valid claims as well as attorneys’ fees and costs as approved by the Court. The settlement fund will be overseen by an independent “Special Master.” The settlement agreement, which is available at the website, www.vpmcclass.com, describes all of the details about the proposed settlement.

 

Those included in the case may ask for a payment, or excludes themselves from, or object to, the overall settlement. If you decide to exclude yourself from the settlement, you will not receive any payment from the settlement fund being established, nor will you have the right to object to the settlement. If you wish to exclude yourself from the settlement or object to the settlement, there are specific deadlines within which to do so. There is a detailed notice describing how to be excluded or object available on the website, www.vpmcclass.com.

 

You could be included in the Class if you were insured by health insurance, treated at Ville Platte Medical Center either in Ville Platte or in Eunice and where treatment was covered under your health insurance policy and where you or your attorney received a medical lien or collection letter at any time within today’s date and January 1, 2004.

 

You could be included in this class regardless of whether your health insurance was with Blue Cross/Blue Shield or with some other health insurer. Additionally, this will not have an effect on your insurance premiums or your right to seek medical treatment at Ville Platte Medical Center in the future.

 

The court will hold a Fairness hearing on May 21, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. at the Evangeline Parish Courthouse, 200 Court Street., Ville Platte, LA. At this hearing, the court will consider whether the settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate. The court will consider whether to approve the settlement, any requested attorneys’ fees, expenses, etc. and the awards for the class representatives.