Hospitals sue Blue Cross of Calif.

A group of five non-profit hospitals is suing Blue Cross of California over charges that the insurer systematically reviewed patient histories in an effort to retroactively deny coverage for patients after they became ill. Long Beach Memorial Hospital and four other hospitals in Los Angeles and Orange County filed the suit yesterday. They cite numerous situations in which Blue Cross authorized care but later reversed itself, leaving hospitals stuck with the tab. Blue Cross of California is a subsidiary of WellPoint, the second largest insurer in the country.

"There are many other hospitals in the same boat. It's going to get a lot bigger before it comes to a conclusion," comments Daron L. Tooch, a lawyer with the Los Angeles firm of Hooper, Lundy & Bookman, the firm which represents Memorial.

- read this article from the Los Angeles Times