54
HEALTHCARE
NEWS
Trinity Health sues medical group, challenges non-
compete clauses
By Ayla Ellison
L
ivonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health
filed a federal lawsuit against Anesthe-
sia Associates of Ann Arbor (Mich.)
on July 23, alleging the medical group's
non-compete clauses could threaten opera-
tions at six of Trinity's hospitals, according
to Bloomberg Law.
Anesthesia Associates of Ann Arbor is the ex-
clusive anesthesiology provider at six of Trin-
ity's hospitals, and the anesthesiology group
has terminated or is terminating its contracts
with Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Prior-
ity Health, according to the complaint.
Anesthesia Associates of Ann Arbor is al-
legedly breaching its contract with Trinity
by terminating the insurer contracts. Trinity
claims its contract with Anesthesia Asso-
ciates of Ann Arbor requires the anesthesi-
ology group to remain in network with the
payers to ensure Trinity's patients are fully
covered by their health insurance when they
require anesthesia at its hospitals.
Trinity says it needs to employ many of An-
esthesia Associates of Ann Arbor's anesthe-
siologists to ensure patients will have anes-
thesia services covered at Trinity's hospitals.
However, Anesthesia Associates of Ann Ar-
bor is allegedly refusing to release physicians
from their non-competes.
Trinity alleges there are many reasons the
non-competes are unreasonable and illegal
in these circumstances.
"If the non-competes are not enjoined, A4 will
be able to violate its contracts with plaintiffs
with impunity and potentially threaten the
insurance coverage of thousands of THM pa-
tients, secure in the belief that its non-com-
petes will allow it to remain under contract
whether it observes its obligations or not," the
complaint states. "Defendants seek to impose
an impossible dilemma on plaintiffs — ei-
ther accept A4's breaches of contract and risk
losing substantial patients whose insurance
coverage has been disrupted, or terminate
A4 without adequate replacement anesthesi-
ologists available, and thereby face equal or
greater losses due to interference with surger-
ies and other critical cases."
Trinity is seeking a court order requiring An-
esthesia Associates of Ann Arbor to release
their physician employees practicing at Trin-
ity's hospitals from any restrictions on their
employment. e health system is also seek-
ing damages related to the alleged breach of
contract and a declaratory judgment finding
that the anesthesiology group's noncompeti-
tion clauses in their agreements with physi-
cians violate federal and Michigan antitrust
laws to the extent that they are used to pre-
vent anesthesiologists from being employed
by Trinity. n
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