The Superior Court of San Francisco County denied July 9 Sutter Health's motion to delay a preliminary approval hearing for a $575 million antitrust settlement.
Sutter Health, a 24-hospital system based in Sacramento, Calif., asked the court to delay the hearing by 90 days, or 30 days after California ended its state of emergency, whichever came sooner.
In its motion to delay the hearing, Sutter said that finalizing the settlement before it is able to understand the full losses from the ongoing pandemic could "jeopardize Sutter's ability to continue providing care."
The court disagreed with Sutter Health, and Superior Court Judge Anne-Christine Massullo set the preliminary approval hearing for Aug. 12-13.
The $575 million settlement agreement, reached in December 2019, resolves allegations that Sutter Health violated state antitrust laws by using its market dominance in Northern California to overcharge patients and employer-funded health plans. The lawsuit claimed that Sutter Health's higher prices led to $756 million in overcharges.
"Sutter's practices harmed California’s healthcare market by charging higher prices unrelated to quality or cost of care. They did that long before the COVID-19 pandemic," California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said about the court's ruling to deny the motion. "We applaud today's ruling because moving forward with the agreement is simply in the public's best interest."