Justice department files antitrust lawsuit against NewYork-Presbyterian

The Wall Street Journal – Thursday, March 26, 2026
By Anna Wilde Mathews and Dave Michaels

The Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against the prominent hospital system NewYork-Presbyterian, alleging that it used restrictions in its contracts with insurers to limit price competition and block lower-cost healthcare options.

The suit, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, was filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. It is the latest development in a broader Justice Department effort focused on whether hospital systems use hidden contracts to protect their market position and maintain high prices.

NewYork-Presbyterian is one of the most well-known and prestigious hospital systems in the U.S. The nonprofit’s facilities include Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medical Center.

The Justice Department complaint says that “unlawful plan restrictions” in NewYork-Presbyterian’s contracts required insurers to include the nonprofit in their health plans, and place it in the most preferential tier of hospitals. That means that the insurers couldn’t steer patients to lower-cost rivals by offering discounts on what they pay out of pocket.

The department said such provisions protected NewYork-Presbyterian from price competition, preserving its high rates, and meant insurers couldn’t offer cheaper plans.

“Millions of New Yorkers pay more for healthcare because of these anticompetitive practices,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The lawsuit seeks an order that prevents the hospital system from seeking or enforcing restrictions on health plans.

A NewYork-Presbyterian spokeswoman said the lawsuit was without merit, and that the system’s policies support competition and comply with all applicable laws and regulations.

The Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission, which share antitrust authority, have said they want to give priority to enforcing fair competition laws in healthcare.

Earlier this year, the Justice Department filed an antitrust suit against another big hospital system, OhioHealth, alleging that it imposed contractual restrictions on insurers that “insulate it from price competition and help to maintain its extremely high prices.” An OhioHealth spokesman said, “We are confident in our position and remain committed to full compliance with all applicable laws and regulatory requirements.”

A third major hospital owner, Advocate Health, has said that its contracts have come under investigation by the Justice Department. The probe was confirmed by an attorney for the Charlotte, N.C.-based nonprofit during a court hearing in December related to a separate civil case.

An Advocate Health spokesman said the investigation has closed and occurred prior to the merger that created the current Advocate Health system.

A Wall Street Journal investigation of hospital contracting practices highlighted NewYork-Presbyterian, OhioHealth and a hospital system that is now part of Advocate Health.

The Journal reported that NewYork-Presbyterian had language in its insurance contracts that restricted insurers from creating health-plan networks that excluded the hospital system.

A civil investigative demand viewed by the Journal, which was issued in June and signed by the then-head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division, asked for information from the 32BJ Health Fund, a major union benefits fund that has repeatedly clashed with NewYork-Presbyterian over its rates and investigated the hospital system’s practices.

Manny Pastreich, president of 32BJ, which is an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union, applauded the suit and said that ending the alleged contracting restrictions will “bring down the high cost of healthcare for all New Yorkers.”

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