In addition to pressuring insurers, the complaint said, the defendants threatened punitive financial consequences against physicians who affiliated with the Medical Center at Elizabeth Place and offered payments to doctors who agreed not to work with the Center.
The original lawsuit claimed that Premier and other defendants — Catholic Health Initiatives, MedAmerica Health Systems Corporation, Atrium Health System, Samaritan Health Partners and Upper Valley Medical Center — colluded by “coercing, compelling or co-opting commercial health insurers or managed care providers” to cut off access to the Medical Center for their networks.
Kettering Health Network, Premier’s chief competitor in the local marketplace, owns 50 percent of the Medical Center at Elizabeth Place.
In writing the opinion for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati, Judge Gilbert Merritt wrote that the lower court had: “dismissed this antitrust case on summary judgment without adjudicating the question of whether the behavior of the Premier group of hospitals constitutes impermissible anti-competitive conduct.”
The ruling means the case will be sent back to the lower court for further action.
“We were surprised and disappointed at the appellate court’s two-to-one decision reversing the case and remanding it back to the trial judge,” said Dale Creech, chief legal officer at Premier. “We are still analyzing the decision and considering our options with our outside counsel, which include asking the entire Sixth Circuit Court to review it. Even if the case returns to the District Court there are other motions pending which, if granted, would likewise result in dismissal of the case. We still are confident that Premier acted fully within the law at all times.”
“We are pleased that the U.S. Court of Appeals recognized the overwhelming evidence of Premier’s illegal conduct and has reinstated our lawsuit. The Medical Center at Elizabeth Place consistently provides the highest levels of medical care for residents of the region. The lawsuit seeks to remove illegal barriers erected by the defendants and creates the opportunity for us to be an even stronger force locally in the delivery of quality acute care,” said Alex Rintoul, the Medical Center’s CEO.
Elizabeth Place officials were equally confident the appellate court ruling will stand.
“It is a new day for health care and the playing field has been leveled in the greater Dayton region,” said Dr. John Fleishman, president of the Medical Center’s Board and ophthalmologist. “This thoughtful decision means hospitals must think twice before they take steps to prevent physicians from working with facilities that provide the highest quality patient care.”
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