Atrium Health has agreed to end what the federal government claimed are anticompetitive steering restrictions in contracts between commercial health insurers and its providers in the Charlotte, North Carolina service area, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced.
If the settlement is approved by a federal judge, it will end two years of civil antitrust litigation that challenged Atrium’s alleged use of steering restrictions that prevented health insurers from promoting cost-effective healthcare services to consumers, the DOJ stated.
“Competition encourages healthcare providers to reduce costs, lower prices, and increase quality,” said Makan Delrahim, Assistant US Attorney General for the Antitrust Division. “Atrium’s steering restrictions interfered with the competitive process, resulting in fewer choices and higher costs for consumers.”
