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California's attorney general sued Sutter Health, accusing the hospital giant of illegally quashing competition and for years overcharging consumers and employers.The lawsuit marked a bold move by state Attorney General Xavier Becerra against the dominant health care system in Northern California as concerns mount nationally about consolidation among hospitals, insurers and other industry middlemen."It's time to hold health care corporations accountable," Becerra said at a news conference Friday. "We seek to stop Sutter from continuing this illegal conduct."The antitrust suit, filed in San Francisco County Superior Court, asks the court to prevent Sutter from engaging in anticompetitive practices and "overcharges."It said Sutter employs a variety of improper tactics, such as gag clauses on prices, "punitively high" out-of-network charges and "all-or-nothing" contract terms that require all of its facilities to be included in insurance networks.Taken together, Sutter's actions "improperly block any and all practical efforts to foster or encourage price competition between Sutter and any rival Healthcare Providers or Hospital Systems," according to the state's complaint. "Sutter's conduct injured the general economy of Northern California and thus of the state.Sutter, which owns 24 hospitals, reported net income of 3 million last year on .4 billion in revenue. Sutter's nonprofit health system also has 35 surgery centers, 32 urgent-care clinics and more than 5,000 physicians in its network.In a statement, Sutter it was reviewing the complaint and couldn't comment on specific claims.Overall, Sutter said, "healthy competition and choice exists across Northern California" for consumers seeking medical care. It also said its charges for an inpatient stay are lower than what other nearby hospitals charge."Sutter Health is proud to save patients, government payers and health plans hundreds of millions of dollars each year by providing more efficient and integrated care," the statement said.This high-profile legal fight caught the attention of employers and policymakers across the country amid growing alarm about the financial implications of industry consolidation. Large health systems are gaining market clout and the ability to raise prices by acquiring more hospitals, outpatient surgery centers and physicians' practices.Martin Gaynor, a health care economist at Carnegie Mellon University, said California's lawsuit may portend more litigation at the state level."There are a number of markets in the U.S. that are dominated by one very large, powerful health system," Gaynor said. "It could be that we're going to see a new level of activity by state antitrust enforcers looking at competition in their own backyards."Glenn Melnick, an economist and expert on hospital finances at the University of Southern California, said if the state prevails against Sutter it could put "a chill on anticompetitive practices that are being adopted across the U.S. and that could help slow down hospital price increases. That would be good news for consumers."The complaints about Sutter's high prices and market power have persisted for years.The state said its investigation started in 2012 under Kamala Harris, California's previous attorney general and now a U.S. senator. Six years ago, her office sent subpoenas to several health systems and insurers seeking information about market concentration and its effect on medical prices.A 2016 study found that hospital prices at Sutter and Dignity Health, the two biggest hospital chains in California, were 25% higher than at other hospitals around the state. Researchers at the University of Southern California said the giant health systems used their market power to drive up prices — making the average patient admission at both chains nearly ,000 more expensive.Last week, researchers at University of California, Berkeley issued a report that examined the consolidation of the hospital, physician and health insurance markets in California from 2010 to 2016. The authors said 44 of California's 58 counties had "highly concentrated" hospital markets.After the report was issued Monday, Becerra said his office would be reviewing those findings and pledged to apply more scrutiny to health care mergers and anti-competitive practices across the state.Sutter Health has gobbled up doctors' practices across the Bay Area, gaining market muscle that has pushed costs upward. Obstetricians employed by Sutter Health, for example, are reimbursed about three times more for the same service than independent doctors, according to a KHN review of OB-GYN charges on several insurers' online cost estimators. It's a key reason why Northern California is the most expensive place in the country to have a baby.At his news conference, Becerra said he's committed to scrutinizing other players besides Sutter in the health care industry who may be engaging in anticompetitive behavior and potentially harming consumers.Consumer advocates and state lawmakers applauded Becerra's aggressive action because of the toll high prices take on millions of Californians. Many residents struggle to pay rising insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenses for emergency room visits or routine hospital tests."Consumers bear the burden of these monopolistic activities," said state Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina), chairman of the Senate health committee. "To ensure health care is affordable and accessible to all, we have to get a handle on predatory pricing."In many ways, Becerra's lawsuit mirrors a similar civil case filed in 2014 by a grocery workers' health plan.The attorney general's office filed a motion in court asking for its lawsuit and the class action to go to trial together before the same judge. The trial is scheduled for June 2019 in San Francisco."While we certainly would have preferred this happened earlier, we respect the attorney general's care in conducting a thorough investigation before filing charges," said Richard Grossman, the lead plaintiffs' lawyer representing the class of more than 1,500 employer-funded health plans.In its lawsuit, the attorney general's office blamed Sutter for much of the increase in health care costs across Northern California because "Sutter embarked on an intentional, and successful, strategy of securing market power in certain local markets." State lawyers also pointed out that Sutter's conduct triggered an "umbrella effect" by encouraging other providers to raise their own prices.The state's lawsuit said Sutter used its windfall from excessive prices to acquire more hospitals and medical groups. It also enabled Sutter to "bestow extremely high salaries for its officers and upper management," according to the state complaint.Patrick Fry, Sutter's chief executive from 2005 to 2016, had .4 million in total compensation during his last year there, according to Sutter's 990 tax filing for 2016, the most recent year available.Overall, 18 executives at Sutter had million or more in total compensation during 2016, the federal tax filing shows.Karen Garner, a Sutter spokeswoman, said Fry's compensation in 2016 reflects retirement benefits he accrued over many years. She added that "industry comparisons show our salaries are reasonable and competitive, given the size, scope and complexity of our organization." 7370

Californians have voted to carve out specific gig workers from a state employment law about who is considered an employee and eligible for benefits.That means people who drive for Uber and Lyft will remain classified as independent contractors and will not be eligible for employee benefits.A California Supreme Court decision in 2018 created a strict test to decide whether a self-employed worker, like gig workers, should be considered employees.In response to the ruling, lawmakers amended Assembly Bill 5 in 2019 to add additional professions where services could be provided by independent contractors, and would not necessarily be employees. However, no changes were made for app-based companies like Lyft, Uber and DoorDash.The state law made app-based drivers employees, and would pay them for their time both while they are driving and they are waiting for a new ride, and offer employee benefits like paid sick leave and workers compensation for one-the-job injuries, the Los Angeles Times explains.Since the proposition has passed, drivers will remain categorized as independent contractors, although the proposition includes wording to require companies to provide an hourly wage for time spent driving equal to 120% of minimum wage. The language also gives drivers a stipend for purchasing health insurance coverage when their driving time averages at least 15 hours a week. However, only hours spent driving counts toward that total, not the time spent waiting between trips.Proposition 22 was launched and partially funded by Lyft and Uber. Nearly 0 million was spent on the campaign for this proposition alone. 1637

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Bubba Wallace is leaving Richard Petty Motorsports at the end of the season. NASCAR's only full-time Black driver informed RPM of his decision Thursday. He will finish the final nine races in Petty's famed No. 43 car. Wallace posted a statement about his decision on Twitter.Wallace says, "this was not an easy decision as I have nothing but the utmost respect for Richard Petty and his family." 426

CARMEL, Indiana — The family of a Carmel High School student who took his own life after getting in trouble at school has filed a lawsuit against the school district.Patrick McCalley got in trouble for a Snapchat message, showing a noose around the neck of an African-American schoolmate. McCalley died by suicide after the school had him sign an affidavit over the incident without his parents being notified.His parents are now suing the Carmel-Clay School District for negligence and for violations of due process of the Fourth Amendment's ban on unreasonable searches. 610

CAMPO, Calif. (KGTV) - Campo Elementary School students were forced off a school bus after a man stormed onto the bus armed with two knives.Matthew Barker, 37, of Campo, was arrested by San Diego Sheriff's Department after he boarded the bus packed with students at an apartment complex near Jeb Stuart Rd. Friday around 8:30 a.m., according to Mountain Empire Unified School District superintendent Kathy Granger and SDSO.SDSO said Barker entered the bus and was immediately told by the driver to leave. Barker ignored the driver and continued up the stairs and toward students before the driver got in front of him.As Barker tried to push past the driver, a grandmother of one of the students saw what was happening and got onto the bus to help the driver, SDSO said. That's when Barker reportedly pulled out a knife and swung at the driver.As the driver and grandmother struggled with Barker, an older student ushered students to the back exit of the school bus and called to nearby parents for help. The students were able to exit out of the bus unharmed.Another good Samaritan then got on the bus, at which point Barker turned the knife on himself, according to SDSO. The Samaritan pried the knife away from Barker and pulled him off the bus as deputies arrived.Barker has been charged with felony assault. SDSO is investigating the incident and believes drugs were a factor in the attack.The bus driver and Samaritans were not injured."We take safety very seriously and want to assure you our buses remain a safe form of transportation for getting children to and from school," Granger said in a statement.Counselors will be at the elementary school Tuesday to offer students support if needed, she added. 1759

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