Suit Claims Overbilling by Tenet Hospital

A lawsuit seeking class- action status was filed against a Tenet Healthcare Corp. hospital in South Carolina on behalf of patients treated there since January 1997.

Attorneys for a former patient said patients at Piedmont Healthcare System were billed fees as much as 90% higher than those of other area hospitals. The suit, filed in York County's Court of Common Pleas, seeks unspecified damages.

Tenet said the hospital in Rock Hill froze its prices in 2001. The Santa Barbara-based hospital chain, which faces several government probes of its billing practices, said through a spokesman that it was working separately with York County to resolve problems over its fees.

Tenet shares fell 5 cents to $16.23 on the NYSE.

-- Ronald D. White