LifeBridge agrees to $2M settlement with MD AG over alleged unnecessary fees

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LifeBridge Health agreed this week to pay nearly $2 million to people who paid out-of-pocket fees that might have been avoidable.

Under a Wednesday settlement with the Consumer Protection Division of the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, LifeBridge agreed to pay $1,985,198 in restitution to people who were required to pay facility fees after receiving health care services, even though those services were also available at locations that didn’t require the fees.

“LifeBridge Health denies any wrongdoing and maintains that we complied with all applicable laws and requirements,” spokesperson Sharon Boston stated in an email.

The attorney general’s office began a civil investigation into LifeBridge in 2019 and alleged violations of the Maryland Consumer Protection Act. The dispute was litigated in the Consumer Protection Division, not in court.

According to a news release from Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown‘s office, the alleged violations happened before July 1, 2021, when the Facility Fee Right-to-Know Act took effect. That law requires oral and written disclosures about fees and requires hospitals to tell patients if they can receive the same services at a different location without paying the facility fee.

“We chose to resolve this matter to avoid the time, expense and uncertainty of extended administrative proceedings and litigation,” Boston’s statement continues. “LifeBridge Health is committed to transparency in patient billing and will continue to follow all state and federal regulations that help patients make informed decisions about their care.”

The settlement states that LifeBridge will send letters to all affected people within about four months. It’s unclear how many people might have paid fees unnecessarily, but the settlement requires LifeBridge to provide the attorney general’s office with a list of people who it believes in “good faith” incurred a qualified expense.

LifeBridge is a nonprofit corporation based in Baltimore. It operates five hospitals in the area: Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, Grace Medical Center, Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital, Northwest Hospital in Randallstown and Carroll Hospital in Westminster. It also runs nearly 150 smaller locations, according to its website.

This isn’t the first time Brown’s team has sought to hold health care providers and insurers accountable. In January, the Consumer Protection Division released a report saying it had saved consumers $2.6 million by challenging denied claims. The state succeeded in more than half of the appeals but noted that very few people attempt to appeal their bills.

This story has been updated.