Volunteers of America Colorado Branch, a Colorado Non-Profit Corporation, and Volunteers of America…

Summary

The court held that a tort plaintiff may recover the full reasonable amount billed for medical services, including amounts written off under the plaintiff's private health-insurance arrangements, rather than only the amount actually paid by the insurer. It concluded that the contractual-health-insurance exception to the collateral-source statute preserves the benefit of insurance-funded discounts for the plaintiff and prevents the tortfeasor from receiving a windfall. The court affirmed the court of appeals and remanded for proceedings consistent with its opinion. Justice Rice, joined by Justices Coats and Eid, dissented, arguing that the write-offs should be set off to prevent double recovery.