American Hospital Association et al. v. PatientRightsAdvocate.org, Inc.

Why This Matters:

Plaintiffs allege that the defendant’s plans to include the billing codes and descriptions for hospital services on its website violates the Copyright Act and is a breach of contract. The defendant operates a website that hosts information on hospital pricing practices, including the prices hospitals charge for items and services. Hospitals throughout the United States use the plaintiffs’ billing codes to facilitate transactions with insurers, patients, and other payers.

Potential Impact:

Making hospital billing codes available to the general public would increase pricing transparency in medical facilities by allowing patients to accurately determine the cost of a service.