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February 14, 2023

St. Francis Hospital’s antitrust lawsuit against Hartford HealthCare moves forward, as judge dismisses part of complaint

PHOTOS | Nick Dethlefsen/HHC; Mark Maglio/4 Biz Graphics LLC These interior and exterior photos of Hartford HealthCare’s new headquarters at 100 Pearl St., at the corner of Pearl and Trumbull streets in downtown Hartford, show the many looks of the multimillion-dollar building renovation. Interior photos show office space adorned with creative artwork and eye-catching messages, themes and designs. The exterior photos feature the area directly outside the headquarters, including a glass cube modeled after Apple’s New York City Fifth Avenue office.
By Andrew Larson

A judge in U.S. District Court in New Haven dismissed part of a lawsuit filed by St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center against Hartford HealthCare Corp. on Monday, granting a portion of Hartford HealthCare’s motion to dismiss.

The antitrust lawsuit accuses Hartford HealthCare of forming a monopoly to suppress competition and “maintain dominance” in Hartford County. Hartford HealthCare, which is headquartered in downtown Hartford, owns Hartford Hospital and the Hospital of Central Connecticut.

In Monday’s decision, U.S. District Judge Sarala V. Nagala removed a theory of liability from the complaint – specifically that Hartford HealthCare violated antitrust law by refusing to participate in “tiered networking” and similar programs. 

The suit says that Hartford HealthCare refused to participate in 1) “bundled pricing” programs, which allow patients to compare the cost of a procedure between facilities and 2) a program that gives state employees cash incentives to use a lower-cost provider for certain services.

St. Francis claimed that Hartford HealthCare’s participation in those programs would “stimulate price competition between providers” and “significantly reduce health care costs.”

In the ruling, Nagala said that St. Francis did not “articulate a factual or legal theory under which HHC’s refusal to participate in tiered networking programs violates antitrust law,” nor did it allege an injury showing the ways in which the plaintiff is in “a worse position as a consequence of the defendant’s conduct.”

The other three legal theories in the complaint – that Hartford HealthCare engaged in the anticompetitive acquisition of physician practices, controlled physician referrals and negotiated an exclusive arrangement for certain medical technology – will continue as part of the case.

St. Francis Hospital is part of Trinity Health Of New England.

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