Hospital costs at root of N.C. high court case

According to the news reports:

“The case of a man who was stuck with a $14,419 bill that he calls inflated and unreasonable after three days of care in a Charlotte hospital is going to be heard by the North Carolina Supreme Court. …

“Robert Talford argues that there should be a trial to determine whether the cost of medications was reasonable. He says the hospital, which he declined to identify, charged 24 times more for the medication than what a local pharmacy would charge. …

“The North Carolina Hospital Association and big hospital groups based in Durham, Asheville, Greensboro, Winston-Salem and Raleigh want the Supreme Court to rule against Talford and make it easy for them to collect overdue bills in court without a trial.

“While all patients receiving care are generally liable for payment for services they receive, the practical reality — especially in the current economy — is that hospitals do not receive payment from a significant number of their patients, many of whom have no means to pay,” the hospitals said in arguments submitted to the court. “So it is imperative that hospitals are able to collect money from patients able to pay for their medical care without unreasonable barriers to hinder such efforts.”