Jury: California health system did not abuse market power
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A federal jury on Friday rejected allegations that a large Northern California health system abused its market power to drive up costs for consumers and businesses.
The verdict followed a monthlong civil trial in a class-action lawsuit against Sutter Health on behalf of more than 3 million employers and people served by the Sacramento-based nonprofit system.
The plaintiffs argued unsuccessfully that the company caused nearly $400 million in insurance premium overcharges between 2011-2017 and sought triple damages, as much as $1.2 billion.
Attorneys who brought the antitrust lawsuit said Sutter Health, which operates 24 hospitals with more than 12,000 doctors and 16,000 nurses, struck deals with major insurance companies that discouraged patients from using lower-cost insurance and lower-cost hospitals.
Sutter Health Interim President and CEO James Conforti said the verdict is important not only for his company, “not only for Sutter Health, but for all healthcare providers in California.”
The decision, he said in a statement, “validates that healthcare providers, including doctors and hospitals, have a right to evaluate whether to participate in health plan networks and ensure that they don’t interfere with the ability to provide coordinated patient care and will not lead to surprise bills.”
Friday's verdict comes two years after the company settled similar claims after state officials and consumer advocates largely blamed Sutter's practices as the reason that Northern California residents were typically paying health insurance premiums that were $3,000 higher than in Southern California.
A typical inpatient procedure in the northern part of the state might have cost $90,000 more than in Southern California, they said.
In the current lawsuit,...