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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

CARDIFF-BY-THE-SEA, Calif. (KGTV) - North San Diego County is hosting a celebration of Greek traditions this weekend at the 41st annual Cardiff Greek Festival. Enjoy live music, folk dancing, pastries, a fun zone, and cooking demonstrations Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. The event will take place at Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church, 3549 Manchester Ave. Parking is free. Admission is for adults, and free for active military, police, firefighters, and children under 12. 535

CHICAGO, Ill. – A new law in Illinois allows prosecutors to charge you with aggravated battery if you assault a retail worker who’s enforcing mask requirements.The enhancement is part of a bill that Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law to expand workplace protections and support essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.Senate Bill 471 adds a penalty for assaulting or battering a retail worker who is conveying public health guidance, such as requiring patrons to wear face-coverings or promoting social distancing.The bill amends Illinois’ criminal code and provides that battery of a merchant is aggravated battery, which is normally a felony in the state.“This provision sends the message that it’s vitally important for workers to be both respected and protected while serving on the frontlines,” the governor’s office wrote in a press release.The legislation comes after several reports of people attacking workers who ask them to wear masks, like a recent instance at a New Jersey Staples store.The law also increases paid disability leave for any injury that occurs after March 9, 2020 by 60 days for firefighters, law enforcement and paramedics whose recovery was hindered by COVID-19. 1205

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation says a deal Eastman Kodak landed to bolster US-produced drug supply is now on hold due to "recent allegations of wrongdoing."It was announced July 28 that Kodak would receive a 5 million federal loan to aid the U.S. in reducing its reliance on other countries for ingredients used in generic drugs.“We must never be reliant on a foreign nation for America’s medical or other needs,” President Donald Trump said at the White House.Kodak's stock price surged prior to the announcement being made, which led to questions of the possibility of insider trading.The Wall Street Journal is reporting the SEC has opened a probe.In a tweet Friday, the DFC released a statement saying in part that it will not proceed further until the allegations of wrongdoing are cleared. 853

Chance Trottman-Huiet is the principal tuba of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic."And I'm a current kind of freelancer – that’s a weird thing to say, but I guess that’s where I am right now,” Trottman-Huiet said.One of Trottman-Huiet’s favorite quotes by Jean-Michel Basquiat explains why he’s so in-tune with music: “Art is how we decorate space and music is how we decorate time.”“For me it’s just incredibly fulfilling knowing that what you are doing is touching somebody in a way that you can’t explain, and you don’t know, but you know it’s happening.”Just like everything else, the live music world took a hard pause at the start of the pandemic. Marc Scorca is the CEO of Opera America – an organization dedicated to strengthening the creation, production and enjoyment of opera in the U.S.“When there are no performances, there is then no work and no pay," Scorca said. "So the impact of COVID on these artists, whether they’re onstage or in the pit or backstage, it’s been profound and a real struggle for most of them.”Trottman-Huiet says the Fort Wayne Philharmonic paid him and the rest of the musicians through the end of the spring season, but with no improvement in COVID cases, he later found out he was furloughed for this fall season and spring season of next year.“The thing that you’d been pursuing for a third of your life all of the sudden is not able to happen,” Trottman-Huiet said.His identity as an orchestral tuba player was shattered.“The people who are musicians and performing artists generally, they’re in this work because of a deep need to create, to perform, to work in front of an audience," Scorca said. "In order to illuminate the human connection and inspire people and give them that emotional connection to themselves and the people around them.”Trottman-Huiet clearly has that drive. So instead of dwelling on the pain of his passion being taken away, he decided to go a different route and chase a longtime dream of composing his own music.“I’ve been exploring learning how to play guitar and writing songs which I haven’t done in a really long time and that’s been a joy,” Trottman-Huiet said.Inspired by musical artists like John Prine, Trottman-Huiet has dedicated hours upon hours to learning new instruments like the acoustic guitar, steel lap guitar and dobro.His hard work and musical talent have helped him produce nine country-folk songs for an album scheduled to be released January 8.“It’ll be called ‘For the Birds’ because I really like birds. They’re songs about journeys and a little bit of struggle and just kind of things that we all have been dealing with.”Trottman-Huiet is one of many musicians who have been furloughed. He applauds orchestras that have found innovative ways to keep the notes floating off the page from streamed performances and outdoor recitals to film projects."They’ve moved the artists into film studios using very safe protocols and distancing," Scorca said. "But rather than doing a streamed live performance which would necessarily have a lot of the artists congregate in person with one another, they brought them to a film studio so that people could be recorded separately and distanced and then drawn together into a film iteration.”For now, Trottman-Huiet says he’ll continue writing songs and plans to eventually be back onstage with his beloved tuba.“I mean there’s certain things that happen onstage with a large group of people that’s just magic," Trottman-Huiet said. "And I’m sure I can get some feelings playing guitar and singing my own songs, but I don’t know I would be fulfilled doing one or the other. Either way I definitely want to have both in my life.”Whether it’s through tuba or folk songs, Trottman-Huiet plans to continue decorating time with music.“I thought for sure my first album would be on the tuba, and not a whole bunch of country folkish songs I’ve written over the last few months, but it’s been very enjoyable.” 3936

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