Rush Medical might wrongfully charge uninsured patients a higher rate than Rush medical charges HMOs.

Investigation and pending class-action complaint against Rush Medical, claiming that the institution is using fraudulent price-gouging tactics to make millions of dollars.

In September of 2003, a 28-year-old Chicago resident came to Rush Medical's Oak Park facility for emergency care. She was discharged less than 24 hours later and billed more than $22,000. According to the class action complaint, had she been covered by an HMO, her insurance company would have been charged only $6,534, a difference of more than $15,000.

The class action complaint alleges that Rush bases its charges on a price list, from which insurance companies negotiate a discount rate. But according to the suit, those who are uninsured are stuck with the highly inflated listed rates. The class action lawsuit claims that Rush violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act and benefited from unjust enrichment. It seeks full restitution for potential class members and asks the court to immediately stop Rush from charging self-pay patients a higher rate than its insurance payors.

The potential class includes residents of Illinois that were patients or responsible for patients at various Rush Medical facilities who 1) had no health insurance and were charged the gross price, or 2) had health insurance that was purchased directly from the insurer at the gross price, from February 23, 2000 to the present.