3 million plaintiffs seek $1.2B from California health firm
ABC News
A lawsuit over high health bills filed on behalf of more than 3 million employers and people is seeking as much as $1.2 billion from one of Northern California’s largest health systems
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A lawsuit over high health care bills filed on behalf of more than 3 million employers and people seeks as much as $1.2 billion from a large Northern California health systems in an antitrust class-action trial getting underway Thursday.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit allege in court documents that Sutter Health abused its market power and “caused enormous adverse economic impacts” by discouraging patients from using lower-cost insurance and lower-cost hospitals.
Sutter Health said in a statement Wednesday that it looks forward to “demonstrating that in Northern California’s highly competitive market, Sutter’s integrated healthcare network provides high-quality care that creates efficiencies, drives down total cost of care and benefits the diverse communities we serve.”
The lawsuit claims Sutter used its market power for inpatient services in seven mostly rural Northern California areas where it is the only or dominant hospital to bind insurers in four other communities where it has competition.
