An Oakland law firm filed two class action lawsuits against Sutter Health, which owns more than 26 hospitals in Northern California, on behalf of patients without health insurance who claim they were overcharged by Sutter and then victimized by “humiliating” and “abusive” debt collection practices.

One lawsuit was filed in Alameda County State Superior Court and the other was filed in San Francisco County State Superior Court.

The lawsuits claim that Sutter violated numerous laws by “charging unfair, unreasonable and inflated prices for medical care to its uninsured patients who are generally the least able to pay,” attorneys for the plaintiffs said in a statement. The suits also claim that Sutter “pursues aggressive collection techniques that often result in lawsuits, judgments, garnishments and bankruptcies against uninsured patients.” The lawsuits seek to require Sutter to make restitution to uninsured patients and for “injunctive relief” to prohibit such practices in the future.

The two lawsuits, as well as another similar suit which was filed in federal court against Sutter last month, come as the State Senate approved SB 379 (Ortiz), designed to protect uninsured patients. The bill is now headed to the Governor Schwarzenegger’s desk.

(via PR Newswire)