Hartford-based Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center has reached a settlement in a lawsuit it filed two years ago against Hartford HealthCare, alleging the larger health system engaged in anticompetitive behavior, according to a January 2 filing in federal court. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed in the filing. In an emailed statement, Hartford HealthCare spokesperson Tina Varona said, “a mutually acceptable resolution was reached. At Hartford HealthCare, our focus has never wavered, and our mission has remained clear: to improve the health and healing of all.” Kaitlin Rocheleau, a spokesperson with Trinity Health of New England, declined to comment.  The lawsuit pitted two of the state’s major health systems against each other. Saint Francis, owned by Trinity Health of New England, claimed that Hartford HealthCare tried to create a monopoly by acquiring local physician practices and obtaining exclusive rights to use certain equipment. In the 75-page lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court, Saint Francis alleged that Hartford HealthCare executives were trying to “crush” or “bury” Saint Francis. Saint Francis was seeking financial damages, a court order to divest any physician practices that Hartford HealthCare had purchased since 2020 and a permanent injunction prohibiting what it described as “anticompetitive conduct.” After reaching a settlement, neither party provided details on the terms of the agreement or whether Hartford HealthCare paid financial damages to Saint Francis. Allegations of anticompetitive behavior In the last two years, Hartford HealthCare has been the subject of three separate lawsuits alleging anticompetitive behavior by the network. Saint Francis alleged that Hartford HealthCare and its subsidiaries tried to create a monopoly on hospital services by acquiring physician networks — particularly within lucrative specialties, like cardiology and orthopedic surgery — and demanded its physicians refer patients only within the Hartford HealthCare system.  The suit also claimed that Hartford HealthCare cornered the market by obtaining exclusive rights to robotic equipment, specifically a “Mako” robot used in many knee and other bone procedures. U.S. District Judge Sarala Nagala largely denied a motion last year by Hartford HealthCare to dismiss the case. Nagala determined that Saint Francis’s argument — that HHC engaged in anticompetitive behavior by recruiting and acquiring physicians, controlling referrals, and negotiating an exclusive technology agreement — was plausible.  Hartford HealthCare was also sued in February 2022 by a group of Connecticut residents, in a proposed class-action lawsuit, who alleged the health system used its market dominance to charge higher prices to the state’s commercially insured residents. The complaint, filed in Hartford Superior Court, claimed HHC used anticompetitive practices to create a monopoly on inpatient hospital services and leveraged its market power to charge insurers higher rates for those services and others, the costs of which were passed onto employers and consumers. Last June, two health plans filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Hartford HealthCare and several of its subsidiaries for alleged unlawful monopolization, restraint of trade and price fixing. The plaintiffs are River Valley Transit, a mass transit provider headquartered in Middletown that provides benefits to employees and their families, and Teamsters 671 Health Service & Insurance Plan, which provides benefits to union members, including transport and construction workers, as well as their families.  The lawsuit provides examples of Hartford HealthCare charging more for the same procedure when compared to its competitors. According to the lawsuit, a colonoscopy at St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport costs $3,800 but only $1,400 at Bridgeport Hospital, which is owned by Yale New Haven Health. The lawsuit also alleges the procedure costs $2,200 at Hartford Hospital but only $1,800 at Saint Francis Hospital. The lawsuits filed by the Connecticut residents and the health plans are ongoing. Hartford HealthCare has denied the claims and said the network will defend itself against the allegations.