Antitrust lawsuit shines light on anticompetitive hospital system behavior

In case you missed it – Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced that the state is joining the U.S. Department of Justice to sue OhioHealth for anticompetitive healthcare contracts.

The federal lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, contends that OhioHealth uses its market strength to force insurers to include OhioHealth in all their commercial insurance networks – a practice that prevents insurers from offering lower-priced health plan options in the region.

“This is a prime example of how hospital systems take advantage of monopolistic practices to raise patient prices,” said Adam Buckalew, senior advisor for Hospital Watch. “Patients deserve affordable healthcare options, and hospitals should make it easier to receive care instead of crowding out the market with anticompetitive tactics just to raise their profit margins.”

According to the complaint, OhioHealth allegedly blocked roughly 85% of commercial insurers in the Columbus market from offering lower-cost health plans. At the same time, OhioHealth’s Riverside Methodist Hospital operates with profit margins approaching 27% — more than double the national average — while patients continue to face rising premiums and surprise bills.

Hospital Watch is dedicated to holding these hospital systems accountable for monopolistic practices that undermine free market standards in the United States. Lawsuits like these are an important first step in enforcing key rules that keep the healthcare market affordable.

About Hospital Watch

Hospital Watch is a watchdog group dedicated to shining a light on corporate hospitals as the top culprit in driving up U.S. healthcare costs – exposing corporate hospitals’ monopolistic practices in price gouging patients with excessive markups and hidden fees with no transparency while forcing patients to pay more for their care. Hospital Watch is a project of Better Solutions for Healthcare.