AG Yost, DOJ sue OhioHealth for monopolizing the healthcare market
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and the U.S. Department of Justice have filed an antitrust lawsuit, alleging that OhioHealth engages in anticompetitive practices that limit competition, resulting in higher healthcare prices for patients and employers.
“When competition is blocked, consumers end up being the biggest losers,” Yost said in a release. “My office stands with the Justice Department in our determination to eliminate these types of unfair practices and protect Ohioans’ wallets.”
The federal lawsuit alleges that OhioHealth, which owns or manages 16 hospitals and outpatient facilities throughout Ohio, forces insurers to include the company in all their commercial insurance networks, preventing insurers from offering lower-priced health-plan options in central Ohio.
“As a result of this reduced competition… individuals and employers in the Columbus area pay higher prices for health insurance coverage and have fewer insurance plans from which to choose,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit said that “payors that sell commercial health insurance plans” previously attempted to remove these restrictions from their contracts with OhioHealth, but the company refused.
“In the absence of these contractual restrictions, payors would be free to offer budget-conscious plans that allow patients to save money by choosing high-quality and cost-effective hospitals.”
According to the release, the company’s restrictions “short-circuit the competitive process” and prevent other systems, such as Mount Carmel and Ohio State University, from expanding their patient base.
“OhioHealth’s rivals are impeded in their efforts to win more commercially insured business by offering lower prices or higher value,” the lawsuit alleges. “Denied the ability to attract new patients … non-dominant rivals lose the opportunity to demonstrate what they offer to patients and to build their reputation and consumer loyalty. This, in turn, deprives them of the larger patient volume that could make new investments in services viable, further hurting patients.”
The lawsuit said that these practices violate the 1890 Sherman Act, sponsored by U.S. Sen. John Sherman, an Ohio Republican, and Ohio’s Valentine Act, which prohibits anticompetitive conduct that harms consumers.
“Americans deserve low-cost, high-quality healthcare – not anticompetitive hospital system contracts that make healthcare less affordable,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a press release. “Under President Trump’s leadership, this Department of Justice will continue taking legal action to protect consumers and drive down healthcare costs across America.”
OhioHealth responded to The Columbus Dispatch regarding the recently filed lawsuit by saying that the company has not yet “been served with the complaint,” adding that “it would be inappropriate for us to comment on pending litigation.”
