In friend-of-the-court brief, AHA defends Sutter Health win in antitrust case

AHA yesterday filed a friend-of-the-court brief urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit to affirm a federal jury’s unanimous 2022 verdict in favor of Sutter Health and certain affiliates in a lawsuit that alleged the California-based integrated health care network violated federal antitrust law in their arrangements with health plans. 
 
“To provide care in this precarious economic environment, hospitals must guard against unanticipated revenue shortfalls—or, at the very least, ensure predictable revenue streams,” the brief notes. “Hospitals thus provide commercial health insurance networks significant discounts in exchange for receiving a higher volume of patients seeking ‘in-network’ care. To protect the benefit of their bargain, hospitals negotiate contractual guarantees against insurers unilaterally changing agreed-upon terms of network participation status during the term of the contract,” provisions that are fully consonant with California’s Health Care Providers’ Bill of Rights and were endorsed by plaintiffs’ own expert.