Prime Healthcare's Antitrust Lawsuit Against Kaiser, SEIU Dismissed

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A federal judge has rejected Prime Healthcare Services' lawsuit against Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente and the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, which centered on antitrust allegations, according to a California Watch report.

Prime, a for-profit hospital chain based in Ontario, Calif., filed the lawsuit in November 2011. Prime officials alleged Kaiser and the SEIU-UHW broke the Sherman Antitrust Act and engaged in a conspiracy to drive Prime out of business in the market. In particular, Prime alleged the SEIU provided false stories to the media about illegal upcoding and high rates of septicemia.  

However, the judge dismissed the complaint, saying that "Prime Healthcare has not sufficiently pleaded specific facts suggesting a conspiracy," according to the report.

Prime has 21 days to file a new complaint, and a Prime spokesperson told California Watch the company plans to do so and "looks forward to moving this case forward."

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