Sidibe v. Sutter Health (Summary)

ANTITRUST

Sidibe v. Sutter Health, No. C 12-04854 LB (N.D. Cal. June 3, 2013)

The United States District Court for the Northern District of California granted a health care system’s motion to dismiss an antitrust case filed against it by members of managed care plans.

In this class action lawsuit, a number of members of managed care plans claimed that the “all or nothing” language of the system’s provider contracts with managed care plans caused them to pay more for health care services than otherwise would have been paid, and forced other competitors out of the market, enabling the system to drive up prices by up to 80 percent.

The district court held that the actions of the system did not show predatory conduct, since the provider contracts were simply part of the necessary components of managed care, and that the class failed to present anything other than conclusory statements in their allegations.  The class also failed to demonstrate that the system had significant market power in any of the regions or counties in which the system operated.