Moran

A person receiving medical treatment at a hospital’s emergency room who pays for it out of pocket can be charged substantially more for that care than one who is covered by either a government-sponsored program or private insurance. This case concerns whether one can maintain an action challenging this variable pricing practice under the unfair competition law (UCL; Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17200 et seq.), the Consumer Legal Remedies Act (CLRA; Civ. Code, § 1750 et seq.), or for declaratory relief (Code Civ. Proc., § 1060). While most of the claims asserted by plaintiff Gene Moran lack merit, we conclude he has sufficiently alleged facts supporting a conclusion he has standing to claim the amount of the charges defendants’ hospital bills self-pay patients is unconscionable. Therefore, we reverse the trial court’s judgment of dismissal in this case.

I

BACKGROUND

On three occasions in October 2013, plaintiff, “a self-pay patient,” went to the emergency room of a hospital owned and operated by defendants Prime Healthcare Management, Inc., Prime Healthcare Services, Inc., Prime Healthcare Foundation, Inc., and Prime Healthcare Huntington Beach, LLC. Each time, he signed a…