by Kristy Kepley-Steward, WLOS
BREVARD — The City of Brevard declared Friday that it is suing HCA Health care for allegedly “engaged in a plan to monopolize well being care marketplaces in seven counties in Western North Carolina: Buncombe, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Transylvania and Yancey.”
The lawsuit alleges HCA engaged in a collection of predatory methods developed to impede level of competition among wellness treatment providers. As a outcome, Brevard, its citizens, and other people in the course of Western North Carolina have paid inflated price ranges for reduced-quality overall health care, the match statements.
Additionally, the lawsuit alleges HCA’s actions have harmed the metropolis and area inhabitants by making prices to charity treatment, doing and billing for pointless procedures, causing the reduction of doctors and suppliers from the HCA process and lowering the availability of appointments for health care companies.
The lawsuit seeks an injunction prohibiting HCA from more monopolistic perform and monetary relief to compensate Brevard and the other health programs that overpaid for wellness treatment for its employees and their family members.
Brevard Mayor Maureen Copelof reported, “Our lawsuit is currently being brought at a time when delivering affordable well being care insurance policy programs for doing the job households and governmental employees, these as firefighters, police and academics, and managing overall health treatment charges have been top priorities for the city of Brevard and users of the class, and the small business communities they serve.”
Mayor Copelof ongoing by noting that “as elected leaders, it is our responsibility to ensure the well being and effectively-being of our local community.
“Accessible and cost-effective health treatment is a key element of that healthy neighborhood. Around the past few several years, our neighborhood has repeatedly expressed worries above the degradation of wellbeing expert services, the problem in getting products and services, and the substantial expense of these expert services. Our makes an attempt to deal with these fears right with HCA have been rebuffed.”
“The monopolistic procedures used by HCA in this case have harmed the Metropolis of Brevard and its citizens by artificially inflated well being treatment payments, lowered good quality of treatment, and the continued loss of healthcare providers in our county and area,” Brevard Mayor Pro Tem Gary Daniel included.
“We hope that this lawsuit will get started to compensate us for overpaying for health and fitness treatment, and provide an finish to the hurt HCA has induced to Brevard and other communities in Western North Carolina.”