HCA Healthcare, a for-profit hospital operator based in Nashville, Tenn., is facing a federal antitrust case in Florida concerning the orthopedic surgery market.
The federal complaint, filed Jan. 19 in Tampa, Fla., alleges HCA aimed to improve its market position by entering into bogus partnership agreements with the largest surgical practices in Sarasota, Fla., according to Bloomberg Law. The complaint was filed by Location 24, which does business as Kennedy-White Orthopaedic Center, a surgery center in Sarasota that HCA manages and jointly owns.
The lawsuit alleges that HCA is engaging in a nationwide scheme that involves building regional monopolies and purposefully running surgery centers it jointly operates into the ground, according to Bloomberg Law.
The lawsuit, which is seeking more than $1 million in damages, claims HCA has failed to properly operate and manage the surgery center.