Sutter Health settles antitrust case for $228.5 million
Sutter Health agreed this week to pay $228.5 million to settle a lawsuit accusing the Sacramento-based hospital system of anticompetitive practices.
The case, originally filed in 2012, accused Sutter of attempting to amass monopoly power in northern California through all-or-nothing contracts, requiring insurers to include all of its hospitals and physician groups in health plans.
When the case was heard at trial in 2022, the jury sided with Sutter. The panel said the plaintiffs hadn’t proven insurers were forced to contract with all of its hospitals, nor had they proven that Sutter had tied services with one hospital to agreements with others. But the plaintiffs soon filed an appeal.
The health system and the plaintiffs said in a joint statement Friday that the deal “resolves strongly disputed claims involving alleged conduct spanning from the late 1990s to 2020.” As part of the agreement, Sutter did not admit any liability.
In a separate statement, the health system said it was pleased to resolve the lawsuit, and described northern California as a “highly competitive market.”
