Hospitals sue Sheriff's Department over inmate medical costs
By: SCOTT MARSHALL - Staff Writer | ∞
SAN DIEGO ---- Several regional health care providers, including three North County hospitals, have sued the San Diego County Sheriff's Department and the county of San Diego for allegedly failing to pay more than $1.2 million for medical care provided to jail inmates.
The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in San Diego Superior Court on behalf of several hospital and health care systems, including: Palomar Pomerado Health, which operates Palomar Medical Center in Escondido and Pomerado Hospital in Poway; Scripps Health and four of its hospitals ---- including Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas; and Sharp Healthcare and three of its hospitals outside of North County.
A spokesman for the Sheriff's Department, Chris Saunders, said the department generally does not comment on pending litigation. Robert Faigin, the department's chief legal counsel, could not be reached immediately for comment Thursday evening.
The lawsuit alleges that the county and the Sheriff's Department underpaid the hospitals for medical expenses for people in the county jails and for the medical costs of people arrested by county law enforcement personnel who are transported to hospitals for treatment.
The hospitals say the Sheriff's Department initially contracted with them to provide care for inmates at lower costs, but in 2003 notified each of them that the department would pay less for medical care than the contracts required.
The Sheriff's Department terminated its contract with Sharp in 2003. Palomar Pomerado terminated its contract with the department in 2002, the lawsuit alleges.
The hospitals subsequently submitted "full-billed charges" for medical services provided, but the Sheriff's Department has underpaid the hospitals, the lawsuit alleges.
Don Stanziano, a spokesman for Scripps, said he was not aware of the lawsuit. Palomar Pomerado spokeswoman Tamara Hemmerly referred questions to the hospital's attorney, who did not return calls for comment Thursday.
Contact staff writer Scott Marshall at (760) 631-6623 or smarshall@nctimes.com.
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