The Source Blog

On March 9, 2026, Jennifer L. Rochon, United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York, partially granted and partially denied a motion to dismiss a case against JPMorgan Chase.  The original suit, filed by JPMorgan employees, claimed that their employer mismanaged health benefit plan funds, allowing excessive payments to CVS Caremark, resulting in higher healthcare premiums, higher drug costs, and lower wages, thereby constituting a violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).  JP Morgan had moved to dismiss the case, but the judge’s […]

In mid-March 2026, Sutter Health and Allina Health announced the signing of a Letter of Intent to merge the healthcare systems.  Sacramento-based Sutter Health has more than 600 locations and 27 hospitals, and reported $19.8 billion in total revenue and $509 million in operating income in 2025.  Sutter Health has come under fire in recent years with claims that it has improperly used its market power to impose anticompetitive contract terms, restricting competition and driving up the cost of care.  Minneapolis-based Allina Health has 12 hospitals and 100 additional care […]

On March 26, 2026, the Department of Justice (DOJ) sued New York-Presbyterian Hospital (NYP), claiming NYP used illegal anticompetitive terms in their contracts with payors.  In the related press release, the DOJ stated that “New York-Presbyterian uses its market power to protect its margins, impede competition from rival hospitals, and prevent employers and unions from creating [budget-conscious health plans].”  According to the complaint, NYP imposes restrictions in its contracts that prevent payors from offering plans that do not place NYP in the plan’s most-favored tier.  Additionally, payors are required to […]

The Source’s founder Jaime S. King, and executive editor Katherine L. Gudiksen, working with Harvard’s Anna D. Sinaiko, have authored a report on state antitrust exemptions for academic medical centers (AMCs) published recently by the New England Journal of Medicine.  There is a recent history of AMCs merging with nonacademic systems, with states creating “carve-outs” to exempt AMCs from antitrust oversight.  The research indicates that such exemptions are unwise and that states should engage in reviews of AMC transactions to ensure they actually deliver public benefits while minimizing consumer harm.  Read the full paper here: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2514565

Antitrust scrutiny of anticompetitive healthcare contract terms is on the rise, and the use of anticompetitive contract terms are increasingly in the crosshairs of both regulators and courts. When healthcare systems acquire a dominant market share, one method of capitalizing on this dominance is to impose anticompetitive terms on entities they contract with for financial gain and to forestall competition.  The use of anti-steering, anti-tiering, all-or-nothing, gag clauses, etc., can result in higher costs and reduced options for healthcare consumers.  In recent years, Indiana, Connecticut, Nevada, and Texas have enacted […]

It is mid-February 2026, and most state legislative sessions are officially in full swing.  This year’s docket is a mix of carryover issues and intriguing new bills that could reshape the healthcare landscape.  But in policy work, “enacted” isn’t the only measure of success—influential ideas often spark trends across states or take several sessions of persistent reintroduction before they finally cross the finish line. Snapshot of 2026 Sessions For 2026, only 46 states will have regular legislative sessions, with Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, and Texas not holding regular sessions in […]

On Thursday, February 5, a federal jury ordered Medtronic to pay $381.7 million to Applied Medical for antitrust violations, finding that Medtronic used its market power to illegally stifle competition through bundling and exclusive-dealing contract terms. Parties to the Case Both Medtronic and Applied Medical produce a surgical instrument called an advanced bipolar device (ABD), which uses electrical current to cut tissue and seal blood vessels during surgery.  Medtronic is the largest medical device supplier in the world.  Medtronic has a dominant market share in the ABD market while Applied […]

On January 9, California Governor Newsom released his first proposed budget for California’s 2026-2027 fiscal year, outlining $348.9 billion in state spending, $30 billion more than the current 2025-2026 budget.  California is facing challenges as federal funding for key programs has diminished under President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill.  Additionally, the budget is based on projected state revenues, which are difficult to determine given differing economic forecasts. Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill reduces federal funding for California’s Medicaid program by $30 billion a year and makes significant cuts to food […]

Discussions of health care consolidation often center on providers and insurers, but growing concentration among the companies that operate behind the scenes poses equally serious risks.  For example, the Change Healthcare data breach in early 2024 caused significant disruptions in healthcare because Change processes approximately half of all U.S. medical claims, and a single cyberattack disrupted large swaths of the health care system.  Similar dynamics are playing out in other sectors of the health care system.  More than 305 million patients have electronic health records controlled by Epic.  At the […]

On November 9, the Indiana Department of Health issued a Certificate of Public Advantage (COPA) to allow Union Hospital to acquire Terre Haute Regional Hospital. The proposed merger would effectively combine the two only acute care hospitals in Vigo County and create a near‐monopoly for inpatient hospital services in the Terre Haute, Indiana area. The proposed acquisition drew opposition from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (under both the Biden and Trump administrations) and the state’s own Attorney General (AG). The COPA prevents state enforcement to challenge the merger as an […]