Atrium Health Agrees to Settle Antitrust Lawsuit and Eliminate Anticompetitive Steering Restrictions

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/atrium-health-agrees-settle-antitrust-lawsuit-and-eliminate-anticompetitive-steering

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, November 15, 2018

Atrium Health Agrees to Settle Antitrust Lawsuit and Eliminate Anticompetitive Steering Restrictions

Settlement Will Allow Patients to Learn About and Seek Care from More Cost-Effective Healthcare Providers

The Department of Justice announced today that it has reached a settlement with Atrium Health, formerly known as Carolinas HealthCare System (“Atrium”). The settlement prohibits Atrium from using anticompetitive steering restrictions in contracts between commercial health insurers and its providers in the Charlotte, North Carolina metropolitan area. If approved by the Court, today’s settlement resolves over two years of civil antitrust litigation challenging Atrium’s use of steering restrictions that prevent health insurers from promoting innovative health benefit plans and more cost-effective healthcare services to consumers.
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In June 2016, the Department filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against Atrium challenging provisions that prohibit steering in the hospital system’s contracts with major health insurers. Steering is a method used by insurers to offer consumers options to reduce some of their healthcare expenses. As alleged in the complaint, insurers are increasingly designing health benefit plans that give patients financial incentives to choose more cost-effective hospitals and physicians. Increased consumer access to these health benefit plans invigorates competition between providers to offer lower premiums and better overall healthcare services.

The Department alleged that Atrium, the dominant hospital system in the Charlotte area, used its market power to restrict health insurers from encouraging consumers to choose healthcare providers that offer better overall value. The restrictions also constrained insurers from providing consumers and employers with information regarding the cost and quality of alternative health benefit plans.
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The proposed settlement, in which the U.S. Department of Justice was joined by the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office, was filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. The proposed settlement prevents Atrium from enforcing steering restrictions in its contracts with health insurers. It also bars Atrium from seeking contract terms or taking actions that would prohibit, prevent, or penalize steering by insurers in the future.
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