State keeps after two IL clinics accused of refusing Medicaid patients

A judge has given the state attorney general of Illinois permission to continue with an antitrust lawsuit that accuses two clinics of turning away Medicaid patients from routine care to force the state to give them bigger payments. The state is arguing that if the two did indeed collude to squeeze out Medicaid patients, it could harm the entire market, as they control 90 percent of the physicians in their region.

In 2007, Illinois State Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a lawsuit against two medical clinics--Carle Clinic Association of Urbana and Christie Clinic of Champaign--contending that the two refused primary care to Medicaid patients in an effort to get them into their higher-priced affiliated emergency departments. The suit also charges that the clinics wanted to keep Medicaid patients out of their facilities.

The clinics filed a series of motions seeking to dismiss the antitrust suit piece-by-piece, but a Champaign County judge denied the majority of their motions. Now, Madigan can continue with their action.

To learn more about this case:
- read this Associated Press item

Related Articles:
IL antitrust suit says private clinics diverted poor to EDs
Physicians drop out of new Medicaid plan

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