DOJ, Ohio sue OhioHealth alleging contracts that limit competition

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OhioHealth is the most recent nonprofit well being system to seek out itself within the authorities’s crosshairs for allegedly utilizing its market energy to suppress competitors and drive up prices. 

The Division of Justice and Ohio’s lawyer normal filed a civil antitrust lawsuit towards the Columbus-based well being system on Friday. The regulators declare OhioHealth imposes anticompetitive contract phrases like anti-steering provisions and all-or-nothing contracting that forestall insurers from promoting cheaper plans and different hospitals from limiting their costs.  

“Competitors for healthcare is significant to all People,” Omeed Assefi, performing assistant lawyer normal of the Justice Division’s Antitrust Division, stated in an announcement. “This lawsuit challenges anticompetitive contract restrictions that forestall customers from selecting lower-cost well being plans and severely restrict customers’ entry to cost data.”