When she was scheduling a procedure at one of Centura Health’s hospitals in 2014, Lisa French was told she would have to pay an estimated $1,337 out of pocket, writes Timothy Bella for The Washington Post. 

However, once the procedure was over, the Colorado resident received a bill of $303,709, with more than $229,000 to be paid out of pocket. Unknowingly, French had signed to pay charges related to chargemaster price rates — the hospital’s then secretive master list of prices used to determine the sticker prices for everything performed by the hospital. 

Her insurance was connected to Chesterbrook-based ELAP Services, which audits hospital bills. The company advised French’s employer-based insurer to only pay around $74,000 of the bill, which left her with roughly $229,000 to pay out of pocket. 

“That was shocking to her,” said Ted Lavender, an attorney appointed by ELAP to represent French. 

The hospital sued French, but in 2018, the jury ruled that she only owed $767. The hospital appealed and won, and the case moved to the Colorado Supreme Court.

Last week, the court ruled in her favor and upheld the original jury verdict. 

Read more about the case in The Washington Post.