BALANCE BILLING DEAD IN CALIFORNIA

The Supreme Court of California ruled this week that emergency rooms can no longer charge patients for what the patient's insurance company does not cover ("balance billing").  In fact, the Court ruled that the practice has been illegal for some time.  You can download a copy of this decision, Prospect Med. Group v. Northridge Emergency Med. Group, here.

I have seen treatment of this case elsewhere, but nothing on how useful this is to small business people.  Many folks have had these charges lingering on their credit reports for years (a 4 a.m. trip to the ER in college perhaps).  Small business owners reliant upon their personal credit should certainly consider having them removed for good based on this decision.  If they are not removed, you may have a fairly easy $1000 claim under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.