PRA Urges Court to Protect Independent Healthcare Watchdogs

PRA has filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to reverse a lower-court ruling that restricts The Leapfrog Group’s ability to publish hospital safety grades.

The case, Good Samaritan Medical Center, Inc. v. Leapfrog Group, involves a challenge brought by hospitals owned by Tenet Healthcare against Leapfrog, a nonprofit organization that evaluates hospital safety and publishes its findings for consumers. The district court entered an injunction barring Leapfrog from using its current or similar methodology to grade the hospitals and requiring corrective statements.

PRA’s brief argues that hospital safety is a matter of clear public concern and that patients depend on independent organizations to collect complicated healthcare data and turn it into information they can actually use. Leapfrog distills complex safety data into a simple letter grade that allows consumers to compare hospitals.

The brief also argues that hospitals should not be able to use consumer-protection laws to circumvent constitutional protections for speech. It further warns that allowing courts to second-guess the methodology, presentation, and editorial judgments of independent watchdogs could have consequences far beyond this case, exposing them to potentially costly litigation from powerful hospitals and insurance companies.

PRA has asked the Eleventh Circuit to reverse the district court’s judgment and protect the ability of independent organizations to research, evaluate, and publicly report on healthcare quality and safety.