Smaller Chain of Hospitals Files Antitrust Suit Against Kaiser

[The Straight Story]

Smaller Chain of Hospitals Files Antitrust Suit Against Kaiser

SAN DIEGO (CN) - An independent hospital chain claims Kaiser Permanente conspired with the SEIU union to try to put it out of business. A Kaiser spokeswoman called the antitrust complaint a "baseless" attempt to deflect a Kaiser lawsuit against Prime Healthcare Services; but Prime called Kaiser's lawsuit part of the hospital giant's "coordinated attack."

..
Prime claims that Kaiser "joined forces" with the SEIU to use a variety of underhand tricks - including wage-fixing to increase health-care costs - to "eliminate Prime as a competitor" in the Southern California market.

...

Prime, which specializes in emergency and critical care, says that Kaiser patients sometimes end up in its emergency rooms due to the "location, accessibility, and services available at Prime facilities" and says Kaiser is required to "compensate Prime for care provided to those Kaiser members."

However, "Kaiser, among other acts as described below, often refuses to pay Prime for services rendered to Kaiser members and requires Prime to pursue administrative appeals and litigation to recover payment for Prime's treatment of Kaiser members. The sheer amount of the receivable at any point in time (currently believed to exceed $100 million) and the time and expense incurred in litigating a majority of claims for reimbursement for services rendered to Kaiser members has a significant adverse impact on Prime's operations." (Parentheses in complaint.)

http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/11/17/41529.htm

[msongs]

1. it would not surprise me if Prime's complaints were true in fact, having been a Kaiser member nt