SAN FRANCISCO, CA—Embattled not-for-profit hospital giant Catholic Healthcare West (CHW) attempted to have a gag order placed against Consejo de Latinos Unidos, a national advocacy group that educates and assists the uninsured, requesting that the court case of hospital price gouging not be “tried in the press” at a court hearing last Thursday. The judge unequivocally rejected CHW’s motion citing constitutional and first amendment concerns.

“How stupid can CHW lawyers be to poke the eye of the Consejo in front of the judge?” asked Lourdes Galvez-Galvan, Deputy Director of the Consejo who was an observer in the San Francisco state courtroom. “The Consejo was in the public audience observing the public proceedings when CHW legal sharks pointed in our direction and mentioned our Executive Director, K.B. Forbes, by name.”

Darius Ogloza, legal counsel for CHW and part of the prestigious Latham & Watkins law firm, requested the gag order citing “Mr. Forbes” and “political undercurrents” surrounding the case and the need to prevent the case from being “tried in the press.” Last Wednesday, Forbes had hand delivered copies of CHW’s controversial proposed settlement in the hospital price gouging case being tried in San Francisco to congressional investigators in both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives. The proposed settlement by CHW is a public document filed with the court.

“Obviously, CHW is concerned that the truth is being exposed: the proposed settlement is a sham, a worthless and bogus settlement whose sole purpose is to protect hospital price gouging,” said K.B. Forbes, Executive Director of the Consejo. “CHW appears to have misled everyone, including congressional investigators, and instead of trying to salvage the settlement process, their legal team tried to shut us up in open court as we were simply watching the proceedings.”

CHW’s proposed settlement designs a discount program for the uninsured that would exclude anyone who had had or could have qualified for health insurance 24 months prior to when emergency hospital services were rendered. CHW’s discount program would also exclude residents who do not live in 478 specific Zip Codes.

The Consejo has called on CHW to scrap the 24 month provision and the list of 478 Zip Codes that would be “codifying economic racism and blatantly discriminating against uninsured Latinos.” The Consejo believes CHW should charge all uninsured patients, regardless of income, a fair and reasonable price, like an HMO. Currently, hospitals charge the uninsured four or five times more than what they would accept as payment in full from an insurance company.