Welcome to the informational website for the Cristiani et al v. Advocate Health Care Network Class Action Settlement. You may be a member of the proposed settlement class if
(i) you were an uninsured in-patient or an out-patient of an Advocate Health Care Network Hospital between November 19, 2000 (or after July 1, 2001 in the case of Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center) and October 29, 2008, and
(ii) your medical services were not covered in whole or in part under a policy of health insurance and you were not a beneficiary under a public or private health insurance, health benefit, or other health coverage program, (including, without limitation, private insurance, Medicare, Medicaid or Crime Victim Assistance, workers' compensation, accident liability insurance, or other third party liability), or
(iii) you were not uninsured as described above, but your obligations to Advocate, not payable by insurers or other third parties (including liability insurers or third party indemnitors) due to, for example, co-payments or deductibles, equal or exceed $5,000 in a calendar year.

The Settlement may benefit you in two primary ways:

(1)      You may be eligible for free or reduced-price health care ("Charity Care") at an Advocate Hospital for unpaid past bills or future bills. If you are a Class Member and received medical treatment and have an outstanding medical bill, but did not pay for that treatment in full and wish to submit a Charity Care Application, please click here, or call 1-888-356-0273;

(2)      You may get money back on past Advocate Hospital bills for treatment received between November 19, 2000 and December 31, 2004, if you paid Advocate all or part of the bill and could qualify for Charity Care based on your household income at the time of treatment. If you are eligible to receive a refund and are required to fill out a claim form, a claim form will automatically be mailed to you. If you were an uninsured Class Member and you paid out-of-pocket for medical treatment and would like to participate in the refund process of the proposed settlement, you are required to complete and submit the Claim Form to the Settlement Claims Administrator so that it is postmarked within 90 days after it is issued. BECAUSE THE CLAIM FORMS WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE UNTIL AFTER FINAL APPROVAL OF THE SETTLEMENT, THERE IS NOTHING YOU NEED TO DO AT THIS TIME TO SUBMIT A CLAIM FOR A REFUND.

The Court gave preliminary approval to the Settlement on October 29, 2008. The Court has scheduled a hearing on February 25, 2009 (the "Fairness Hearing") to determine whether the Settlement is reasonable, fair, and adequate and, if so, to give the Settlement final approval. The Court must approve the Settlement for it to take effect. The Court will also determine the amount of attorney's fees and reimbursement of litigation costs to be awarded to lawyers for the class. The time and date of this hearing may be rescheduled without further notice to the Class. You may attend this hearing if you wish, but are NOT required to do so in order to participate in the Settlement.