Medical funding companies inflating insurance payouts BIZ Northwest Louisiana [Video]

(The Center Square) − In a House Joint Insurance Committee hearing on Friday, James Prather detailed an industry which is working to inflate insurance payout claims by hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“People will say to me ‘there’s no way this is actually happening’,” Prather told The Center Square. “Yes, It’s how it is done.”

He’s an attorney for Galloway, Johnson, Tompkins, Burr and Smith.

In the “Operation Sideswipe” case, in which Prather helped defend a trucking company, four women received treatment through a litigation, or, “medical” funding company. These companies cover medical costs upfront and seek reimbursement through legal settlements.

Those companies billed the defendants $720,000 despite actual costs being only $240,000. According to Prather, Louisiana’s legal environment makes these sorts of companies – which Prather called “venture capitalist” – particularly attracted to Louisiana because of the collateral source rule.

“They are putting out these figures which are not …