Florida Emergency Room Patient Wants ‘Unfair’ Fee Claim Revived

A Florida man wants a federal appeals court to reinstate his claim that a hospital system violated the state’s unfair trade practices law by failing to disclose its emergency room “facility fees” to patients.

Lawrence Hauser’s Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act claim against Steward Health Care System LLC shouldn’t have been dismissed because the law’s safe harbor for acts required or permitted by federal law didn’t apply, Hauser told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Monday.

Hauser sued Steward in a proposed class action in Florida state court. He alleged the system improperly charged patients ...