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John R. Fischer, Senior Reporter | January 19, 2022
Saint Francis says that Hartford HealthCare and its network have also interfered with managed healthcare plans’ use of tiered networks, which enable employers and consumers to receive lower cost, higher quality services at preferred rates. It did so by setting higher prices that healthcare plans were forced to accept because of its wide range of physicians.
This behavior, according to Saint Francis, violates Connecticut’s Unfair Trade Practices Act and the federal Sherman Act with “unreasonably restrained trade in each of the relevant markets.” It adds that this “anti-competitive” conduct has harmed other hospitals in the Hartford region, including Manchester Memorial Hospital, the University of Connecticut John Dempsey Hospital and Bristol Hospital.
In addition to seeking damages, Saint Francis is requesting a court order to divest any physician practices acquired by Hartford HealthCare since 2020, and a permanent injunction to prohibit it from continuing its alleged behavior.
A spokesperson for Trinity Health of New England, the parent company of St. Francis, said in a statement that its main goal is to “ensure that residents of the greater Hartford area have access to healthcare that is high in quality with lower costs.”
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