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.
 

Related News Articles

Headline
The Census Bureau reported (https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2025/demo/acsbr-024.pdf) that the uninsured rate increased nationally to 8.2% in 2024…
Headline
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Innovation Center Sept. 2 announced changes to the Achieving Healthcare Efficiency through Accountable Design…
Headline
A KFF analysis published Aug. 20 provides a state-by-state allocation of Congressional Budget Office estimates that 10 million people could be uninsured by…
Headline
The U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury announced Aug. 7 that they are reconsidering the definition of short-term, limited-…
Headline
A new analysis published Aug. 6 by the Peterson Center on Healthcare and KFF found that Health Insurance Marketplace insurers will propose a median premium…
Headline
The Congressional Budget Office today released its estimate of the budgetary effects of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, as enacted. CBO projects the law will…