The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges that New York-Presbyterian uses its market power to prevent payors from excluding the hospital from coverage or placing it in lower-tier categories. The system also allegedly forbids insurers from offering lower copays when patients choose to receive care at rival hospitals that are often less expensive.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi stated that "Millions of New Yorkers pay more for healthcare because of these anticompetitive practices." Acting Assistant Attorney General Omeed A. Assefi added that New York-Presbyterian "uses its market power to protect its margins, impede competition from rival hospitals, and prevent employers and unions from creating these plans."
The lawsuit seeks an injunction to bar New York-Presbyterian from maintaining these restrictions, which the Justice Department argues insulate the hospital from price competition and prevent the development of budget-conscious plans available in other parts of the United States.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York said the office will "continue to work with our partners in the Antitrust Division to investigate and confront anticompetitive practices that contribute to higher healthcare costs."
The filing represents the Antitrust Division's second healthcare competition case this year. New York-Presbyterian owns and operates eight hospitals and numerous outpatient facilities across the New York City area.