Florida providers going to trial in $360 million antitrust case against HealthFirst

Several healthcare providers and physicians in Florida are planning on going to trial with integrated system HealthFirst, seeking more than $360 million in damages for alleged antitrust violations.

OmniHealthcare and Interventional Spine Institute of Florida, among others, have accused HealthFirst of “intimidating physicians or otherwise obstructing their ability to practice medicine in southern Brevard County” by supposedly refusing to renew contracts unless the doctors refer patients exclusively to HealthFirst providers. The intimidation, according to the complaint, began after HealthFirst acquired the physician group Melbourne Internal Medicine Associates in 2013.

A federal judge denied five motions from HealthFirst seeking to dismiss some of the charges in the case’s final pretrial conference July 21, and set a trial date of Aug. 15.

One lawyer for the plaintiffs, Joe Whatley, told legal news website Law360 the judge’s lastest actions were close to a “total victory” for the physicians.

“Our clients are really concerned about the healthcare in Brevard County,” Whatley said. “They want to see it improved and they want to see competition in Brevard County.”

HealthFirst Vice President of Marketing and Communications Matthew Gerrell said in a statement that any settlement to avoid a trial is unlikely, arguing the physicians’ real motivation is to break up the integrated health system model the company has developed.

“There are those in the health services industry that do not believe this is the right model, and feel threatened, as they have richly profited from the historic 'fee for service' model of healthcare for decades,” Gerrell said. “Their reaction is to file lawsuits, and try to 'cash in,' while their business models erode due to the evolving economics of healthcare.”

HealthFirst has faced similar lawsuits over the past several years. Health News Florida reported the company was sued in February 2015 over allegedly giving kickbacks to physicians who referred patients only to its providers. In September 2015, it was sued on antitrust grounds over its purchase of Space Coast Cancer Center, which has three locations in Brevard County.