DOJ, Ohio sue OhioHealth alleging contracts that limit competition

Tara Bannow covers hospitals, providers, and insurers. You can reach Tara on Signal at tarabannow.70.

OhioHealth is the latest nonprofit health system to find itself in the government’s crosshairs for allegedly using its market power to suppress competition and drive up costs. 

The Department of Justice and Ohio’s attorney general filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against the Columbus-based health system on Friday. The regulators claim OhioHealth imposes anticompetitive contract terms like anti-steering provisions and all-or-nothing contracting that prevent insurers from selling cheaper plans and other hospitals from limiting their prices.  

“Competition for healthcare is vital to all Americans,” Omeed Assefi, acting assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, said in a statement. “This lawsuit challenges anticompetitive contract restrictions that prevent consumers from choosing lower-cost health plans and severely limit consumers’ access to price information.”