A legal battle between OhioHealth and the United States Department of Justice is over after the government and the health care giant reached an agreement.
The Columbus-based health system announced the agreement on June 16, bringing an end to antitrust litigation first filed in February. As part of the agreement, OhioHealth “does not admit any wrongdoing” and will not face penalties or fines, according to an OhioHealth press release.
Attorney General Andy Wilson’s Office confirmed to The Dispatch that the agreement had been reached.
“Healthcare works best when patients have clear choices and honest information,” Wilson said in a statement. “This settlement promotes fairness and creates a better system for everyone.”
On Feb. 20, the state and federal government sued OhioHealth for anticompetitive practices, or practices that reduce competition and usually result in less care options and higher prices for patients.
OhioHealth vehemently denied the allegations and said in court filings that the DOJ did not have evidence to prove their claims.
The agreement was filed in the U.S. Southern District Court of Ohio. It is still pending a judge’s approval.
What was the lawsuit about?
The government called OhioHealth the “dominant” health system in the Columbus area, and alleged it held unfair market power, usually the result of extreme consolidation of health systems. OhioHealth has a presence in 50 of the Buckeye State’s 88 counties, and more than a dozen hospitals and numerous outpatient practices in central Ohio alone.
But the government didn’t ask OhioHealth to give up that market power, instead asking OhioHealth to ease restrictions for insurance companies they contract with.
The government argued that OhioHealth’s grip on the region forced insurance companies to accept all of their providers into at least some of their insurance plans. That made it too costly for companies to provide “budget conscious” insurance plans to customers. Fixing that would would help patients, the government said, though some experts disagree.
OhioHealth requested the lawsuit be dismissed in May. The health care goliath argued that the complaint was too generic, failed to offer proof of an illegal agreement and that federal antitrust law “does not restrict a private business’s right to choose with whom it will deal,” per the dismissal request.
Under the agreement, OhioHealth cannot restrict insurers from encouraging patients to seek care from lower-cost providers or enforce contract provisions that limit insurers from sharing price or other information with patients that could influence what providers they choose.
It is not clear if these are current OhioHealth practices. The Dispatch has reached out OhioHealth for further comment.
This breaking story will be updated.
Business and consumer issues reporter Samantha Hendrickson can be reached at shendrickson@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: OhioHealth reaches agreement to end antitrust lawsuit
Reporting by Samantha Hendrickson, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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By Samantha Hendrickson, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
