Kight v. McG Health, Inc., 296 Ga. 687

After a car wreck, Christopher Kight received hospital treatment at MCG Health (the Hospital); treatment was covered under a contract between the Hospital and Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
The Hospital’s contract required acceptance of discounted rates as "payment in full" from Blue Cross for covered services but permitted the Hospital to collect deductibles and co-pays directly from the insured patient and prohibited balance billing for the difference.
On March 21, 2007 the Hospital filed a hospital lien under OCGA § 44-14-470 for $36,177.68 (the standard billed charge), though the insurer had already paid most of the discounted amount; at filing unpaid amounts included $261.10 owed by Blue Cross and $186.48 in patient deductibles/co-pays.
Kight continued to receive care after the lien filing; by April 5, 2007 his unpaid deductibles/co-pays totaled $863.10, and the Hospital later amended the lien to that amount, which it sought to recover.
The trial court held the lien invalid at filing (finding no debt then owed) and awarded Kight attorney fees under OCGA § 13-6-11; the Court of Appeals reversed, and the Supreme Court of Georgia granted certiorari.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Kight)	Defendant's Argument (MCG)	Held
Whether a hospital lien was valid when filed	No debt existed when lien filed; lien therefore invalid and waived	Debt existed (unpaid discounts, deductibles/co-pays) and contract preserved right to collect patient portion	Lien valid at filing; trial court erred in declaring it void
Whether Hospital waived lien by contract with insurer	Contract barred recourse except against insurer, so Hospital waived lien rights	Contract explicitly reserved right to collect deductibles/co-pays from patient	No waiver; Hospital retained right to collect patient portions
Whether a lien must be exact at filing or is void ab initio if not	Lien must state exact amount when filed or it's void	Statute does not require exactness at filing; permitting amendment is acceptable	No statutory requirement of exactness; court will not add one
Whether attorney fees under OCGA § 13-6-11 were proper	Fees appropriate because lien was invalid and conduct was without substantial justification	Fees improper because lien was valid	Award of attorney fees reversed; fees not proper

MCG Health, Inc. v. Kight, 325 Ga. App. 349 (Court of Appeals of Ga. 2013) (Court of Appeals reversed trial court and held lien valid)
State Farm Mut. Ins. Co. v. Adams, 288 Ga. 315 (Ga. 2010) (describing purpose of hospital lien statute and hospital's ability to step into insured's position to recover economic damages)
MCG Health, Inc. v. Owners Ins. Co., 288 Ga. 782 (Ga. 2011) (distinguished; addressed different contractual recourse issues between hospital and insurer)
Abdulkadir v. State, 279 Ga. 122 (Ga. 2005) (courts may not judicially insert requirements into statutes)