A Wisconsin circuit court judge ruled that an uninsured couple cannot bring a class-action lawsuit against a hospital on the basis that the hospital charges higher rates to those without insurance, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. A full-time day trader and his wife filed suit in May 2005 alleging that a $25,000 medical bill for inpatient and outpatient procedures at Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital in Waukesha, Wis., was unreasonable and improper. Waukesha County Circuit Judge Patrick Haughney ruled that Wisconsin hospitals are allowed to have variable pricing, and that the couple, who dropped their $3,000-a-year health insurance while amassing a $280,000 portfolio, were uninsured by choice rather than economic circumstances. The judge, however, did let stand the allegation that the hospital’s charges were unreasonable. “If a jury trial is held in this matter, it will be for the jury to determine whether the amount is reasonable,” said Haughney.
