Top 10 Healthcare Lawsuits and Settlements

From the FTC lawsuit against the nation’s three largest pharmacy benefit managers to the antitrust lawsuit against Epic, here are 10 lawsuits, settlements and legal developments in the healthcare industry that Becker informs from September 13:

1. The startup has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Epic Systems, alleging that the company is using its position in the EHR market to limit competition in the payment platform sector.

2. After weeks of internal disagreements at the Federal Trade Commission over pharmacy benefit managers, the agency said it has sued CVS Caremark, Optum Rx and Express Scripts for allegedly inflating insulin prices.

3. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed suit in federal court alleging that Northwest Medical Center-Bentonville (Arkansas) refused to hire an employee as a surgical technician because of his gender.

4. Oregon Health Center’s cardiology practice filed a lawsuit against Salem (Ore.) Health, accusing the health system of defamation and monopolizing the cardiology market.

5. After a six-year legal battle, Beaufort (SC) Memorial Hospital has withdrawn its certificate of need for a hospital in Bluffton, SC.

6. Dunes Surgical Hospital in Dakota Dunes, South Dakota, United Surgical Partners International and USP Siouxland agreed to pay $12.76 million to resolve allegations that the surgical center violated the False Claims Act by having improper relationships with two groups of physicians.

7. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission accused Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta of violating federal law by withdrawing a job offer after an applicant asked for disability-related accommodations.

8. Express Scripts, a pharmacy benefit manager within Cigna Group, is suing the Federal Trade Commission and its chairwoman, Lina Khan, over what it calls an “unfair, biased, erroneous and defamatory” report on pharmacy benefit managers released by the agency earlier this year.

9. Eighty hospitals are seeking to repeal the final version of the Medicare Advantage Days Part C regulations, alleging that HHS illegally reduced hospitals’ disproportionate share payments by an estimated $3 billion to $4 billion over a nine-year period.

10. Aetna faces a class action lawsuit alleging the insurer wrongfully disregarded gender-affirming care.