SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California’s attorney general has sued Sutter Health, one of the state’s largest hospital systems, alleging anticompetitive business practices that unfairly drove up costs for patients.
The Los Angeles Times reports the lawsuit filed Friday claims Sutter charged prices for services that far exceed what the company would have been able to charge in a competitive market.
Spokeswoman Karen Garner says Sutter Health officials had not seen the complaint and therefore declined to comment.
Attorney General Xavier Becerra alleges Sutter set excessively high prices for out-of-network healthcare and restricted insurance companies from providing low-cost options.
Sutter consists of some two dozen acute-care hospital facilities in 19 counties in Northern California.
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