Cedars-Sinai Sues HealthCare Partners Over $6 Million in Unpaid Bills

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Cedars-Sinai Medical Center filed a lawsuit Tuesday alleging El Segundo-based HealthCare Partners has failed to pay more than $6 million for services provided by the hospital.

The complaint, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, says HealthCare Partners has repeatedly failed to honor its contract with Cedars-Sinai, relying on the hospital for life-saving patient care and then skipping out on the bills.

“HealthCare Partners failed and refused to fully honor its obligation to pay,” the complaint reads. “Instead of paying the amounts required by the Agreement, HealthCare Partners either paid a fraction of the amounts due or paid nothing.”

In one case cited in the complaint, a patient underwent a kidney transplant at Cedars-Sinai in 2012 that cost more than $1.2 million, which Healthcare Partners has still not paid for.

“We deny the merits of this lawsuit,” A spokesman for HealthCare Partners said in a statement. “This matter was just recently filed, but we have not yet been provided any details or documentation that would support the allegations.”

Cedars-Sinai’s lawyer, James Poth of Jones Day, declined to comment. A spokeswoman for the hospital also declined to comment.

HealthCare Partners, a subsidiary of Denver-based Davita Inc., has more than 1,600 primary care physicians and 4,000 contract specialists as part of its network, according to the company’s website.

Deals & Dealmakers reporter Henry Meier can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @henry_meier.

Editor’s Note: A comment from HealthCare Partners was added to this story.

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