The Denver Post reports that four doctor-owned Colorado day-surgery centers have filed an anti-trust lawsuit alleging that the state’s largest hospital chains are conspiring to drive them out of business. The defendants, however, are alleging that the surgery centers may violate insurance and kickback laws.
The suit filed by the relatively new surgery centers claims that Centura and HCA/HealthONE have convinced major insurers to avoid putting the day-surgery centers in their approved networks.
A Centura spokesman said, “While we are still reviewing these allegations, we are confident Centura Health has not violated any federal or state laws and that our hospitals and other facilities are operating in the best interests of the communities we serve.”
Meanwhile, the hospitals and insurers claim the new surgery centers are illegally waiving co-pays and deductibles for patients, then charging insurers out-of-network fees at exorbitant markups.
Read the full story here.
