Case Details

Year Initiated/Committed

1998

Year Resolved

2000

Settlement Amount

costs

Court

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, White Plains Division

Docket Number

98-Civ 0939 (WCC)

Lead State

NY

Participating States

NY

Defendant(s)

St. Francis Hospital and Vassar Brothers Hospital/hospitals

Case Description

In a complaint filed in 1998, the State of New York sued the two hospitals in Poughkeepsie, New York, arguing that their practice of jointly negotiating prices with health insurers and jointly deciding which services the hospitals would offer was illegal price-fixing and market allocation. In April 2000, the judge endorsed with summary judgment, New York’s characterization of the hospitals’ actions as illegal under the antitrust laws. With that decision, New York reached a final consent judgment with the hospitals ending the challenged practices and reimbursing New York its costs and fees.