The Justice Department and Ohio’s attorney general filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against OhioHealth Corporation on Friday, alleging the healthcare giant uses contract restrictions that force patients to pay higher prices.
The suit targets Ohio’s largest healthcare system for practices that allegedly block consumers from choosing lower-cost health insurance options. The legal action reflects the Trump administration’s push to reduce healthcare costs through antitrust enforcement.
“Americans deserve low-cost, high-quality healthcare – not anticompetitive hospital system contracts that make healthcare less affordable,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a news release. “Under President Trump’s leadership, this Department of Justice will continue taking legal action to protect consumers and drive down healthcare costs across America.”
The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, alleges that OhioHealth leverages its market dominance to impose restrictive contracts on insurers. These agreements reportedly prevent insurers from offering budget-friendly plans that exclude OhioHealth facilities.
OhioHealth owns or manages 16 hospitals and outpatient facilities across the state. The system allegedly requires insurers to include all its facilities in every commercial insurance network, regardless of cost.
“Competition for healthcare is vital to all Americans,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Omeed A. Assefi of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “This lawsuit challenges anticompetitive contract restrictions that prevent consumers from choosing lower-cost health plans and severely limit consumers’ access to price information.”
The restrictions block innovative insurance products that could save Columbus-area residents money. Without these options, patients and employers face limited choices and inflated costs.
Assefi noted the restrictions “cause many Columbus residents to pay more for lower-quality healthcare.” He praised the partnership with Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost in challenging the practices.
The lawsuit seeks to prevent OhioHealth from enforcing these contractual terms. If successful, it could open the market to new insurance products that steer patients toward lower-cost providers while maintaining quality care.
