The Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments May 4 in a dispute between State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance and a major Jacksonville hospital about information related to the hospital's reimbursement rates.
State Farm took the case to the Supreme Court last year after the 1st District Court of Appeal sided with Shands Jacksonville Medical Center, now known as UF Health Jacksonville.
The case involves personal-injury protection auto-insurance claims and the hospital's contracts with health insurers for other types of care. State Farm sought copies of contracts that could show the hospital agreeing to discounted reimbursement rates with health insurers, arguing the information was necessary to determine if amounts billed by the hospital for auto-insurance injury claims were reasonable.
A circuit judge sided with State Farm, ordering the hospital to turn over contracts with 37 health insurers.
But a three-judge panel of the appeals court overturned that decision, finding that it exceeded the "extent of discovery permissible" under parts of state law.
The Supreme Court issued an order Friday setting the date for oral arguments.
