The Tribunal de Justiça do Rio Grande do Sul has ruled that Hospital São João must stop illegally charging patients covered by the SUS and return double the amounts collected since 2015.
In a recent ruling by the Tribunal de Justiça do Rio Grande do Sul, Hospital São João, located in Arvorezinha, has been instructed to cease all illegal charges imposed on patients receiving care through Brazil's public health system, the Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS). The court found that the hospital had unlawfully demanded payments for procedures that should be fully covered by the SUS, an action deemed not only illegal but also damaging to the patients served by the facility. In addition to ceasing the illicit billing practices, the court ruled that the hospital would face fines of R$ 1,000 for each newly identified instance of illegal charges.
