Hartford HealthCare Faces Suit Over Alleged Monopoly Scheme (1)

Hartford HealthCare Corp. was hit with federal antitrust claims Tuesday in New Haven, Conn., over its alleged scheme to monopolize regional medical care by gobbling up physician practices and bullying doctors into exclusive referral agreements.

The lawsuit, filed by St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, accuses Hartford Health affiliates of expanding its dominant market share—through wide-ranging anti-competitive policies and transactions—to avoid competitive pressure on the system’s high fees and low quality of care.

Hartford Health has succeeded through its “campaign of exclusion, acquisition, and intimidation” at achieving a market share that “significantly exceeds the level” antitrust enforcers have identified as ...