Two recent cases involving antitrust challenges to large
hospital systems brought by physician-owned hospitals (POH) may be
of interest to those following the fate of such cases. In one, the
POH plaintiffs failed to surmount the same hurdle that has long
foiled plaintiffs bringing antitrust claims against hospitals
— the definition of the relevant markets. In the second,
a POH, allegedly driven out of business by a hospital's
practices, settled on the eve of a high-profile trial.
On December 29, 2009, the United States Court of Appeals for the
Eighth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of antitrust claims in
Little Rock Cardiology Clinic PA v. Baptist Health, App.
Nos. 08-3158/09-1786. The case was brought by Little Rock
Cardiology Clinic (LRCC), a professional association of
cardiologists, and its individual members, against the largest
hospital system in Arkansas and Blue Cross & Blue Shield of
Arkansas (ABCBS). Plaintiffs alleged that in response to LRCC
opening a
