Sutter Health request to delay $575M settlement is denied

Sutter Health (Sacramento, CA) requested a delay on a $575 million settlement it reached last December over accusations of price gouging and monopolistic practices. Citing the surge in coronavirus cases and economic fallout from the pandemic, Sutter Health argued it needed three additional months to decide whether it should try to abandon the settlement terms. However, a California state judge denied Sutter Health’s request, scheduling a hearing next month on the preliminary agreement. Sutter Health said in a statement, “Adjusting our entire integrated network to respond to COVID-19 has been an incredibly costly and difficult endeavor that will significantly impact us for years to come.” The agreement is the result of a lawsuit filed by California’s state attorney general who argued that Sutter Health had cornered the market so that insurers and patients were unable to go somewhere else for less expensive or better treatment. Sutter Health did not admit any wrongdoing. Read more.