Sunday
PITTSBURGH – Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday is challenging the acquisition of Heritage Valley Health Systems, arguing in federal court that patients in Beaver and Allegheny counties will face higher prices.
Sunday sued Allegheny Health Network and others last week under the Clayton Act, a federal antitrust law, in an effort to stop an agreement announced in October. HVHS’s two acute care hospitals are set to become AHN facilities, “eliminating the competition between the two systems,” the suit says.
They would be AHN’s 15th and 16th hospitals, Sunday points out, with all but one in Western Pennsylvania.
“Heritage Valley Beaver is the only acute care hospital in Beaver County and serves as an important healthcare resource for residents of Beaver County and surrounding communities,” the suit says.
“Consequently, for individuals residing in Beaver County and for health plans seeking to offer marketable plans to residents of the county, having access to Heritage Valley Beaver is essential.”
Sunday says about 39% of HVHS patients will switch to AHN if HVHS is no longer an option. That indicates that AHN is a close substitute for HVHS in the general acute care market.
And the purchase will increase AHN’s bargaining leverage in negotiations with health plans, Sunday argues. It could “potentially extract higher reimbursement rates.”
“Competition between hospitals for inclusion in health plan networks constrains the overall cost of hospital care,” the suit says. “This, in turn, permits health plans to offer health insurance to consumers at lower costs. Health plans constitute a significant percentage of hospitals’ revenue from patient care.”
Also affected would be patients seeking radiation oncology services. Sunday warns that if prices increase, patients can’t go outside the geographic market “because they are not reasonable substitutes.”
