In an important legal development in the healthcare cost debate, the California Supreme Court has denied a petition for review of the recent decision in Children’s Hospital of Central California v. Blue Cross of California, 226 Cal. App.4th 1260 (2014). You’ll recall that a few months ago, a California appellate court reversed a decision by the trial court holding Blue Cross responsible for the full billed charges because the jury found that an implied-in-fact contract existed between the Hospital and Blue Cross. In so doing, the jury awarded the hospital $6.6 million in addition to the $4.2 million Blue Cross had already paid, totaling a payment of $10.8 million. This decision set up a potential showdown in the California Supreme Court; but the showdown is not to be. As a result benefit plans get important legal support for the proposition that a hospital cannot be paid an amount simply because they charge for it.

See the full appellate decision here.

Stay tuned as the the California courts try to determine on remand what should be considered when determining the “reasonable and customary” value of services rendered.