Case Description
Complaint under state Hospital Cooperation Act regarding merger of 4 physician-hospital networks into regional network to jointly negotiate with managed care. Consent Decree enjoined merged entity from operating an exclusive network; implementing right-of-first-refusal policies, pressuring physician participants to terminate, refusing to negotiate or renew contracts with payors and setting fees or negotiating on behalf of participating providers. Also, no provider contract longer than 2 years permitted unless required by the payor. PHOs subject to monitoring by the Attorney General who can limit the network’s ability to contract with managed care if it does not meet promised performance standards in the form of cost savings and utilization reductions.
