Union Health Plan Hits OhioHealth With Antitrust Suit

A union health and welfare benefit fund has taken Columbus-based OhioHealth to court over how it negotiates with insurers. The Cleveland Bakers and Teamsters Health and Welfare Fund filed a class action antitrust lawsuit on Aug. 19, alleging the health system's contracts with payers blocked lower-cost plan designs and inflated what insurers and employers paid for care, according to court documents accessed by Becker's Hospital Review.

At the center of these cases are contracting terms that plaintiffs say reduce competition. Anti-steering and all-or-nothing clauses can prevent insurers from directing patients to cheaper providers or from selectively contracting with individual hospitals, leaving self-funded plans paying more.

The OhioHealth suit is part of a broader wave of antitrust litigation and regulatory attention aimed at dominant hospital systems. Employers, unions, and government enforcers increasingly argue that consolidation and restrictive contracts push up prices without improving care. The outcome could shape how large systems structure payer agreements nationwide.