Attorney General Becerra Applauds Court Order Allowing Final Approval Process for Landmark Sutter Settlement to Move Forward

Thursday, July 9, 2020
Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov

SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra issued the following statement in response to today’s court ruling denying Sutter Health’s (Sutter) motion asking to delay final approval of the settlement reached in December 2019, which would help restore competition in the healthcare market. Today’s ruling by Judge Massullo allows the settlement approval process to move forward.
 
“Sutter's practices harmed California’s healthcare market by charging higher prices unrelated to quality or cost of care. They did that long before the COVID-19 pandemic. There is no period of time that medical providers, like Sutter, should be able to carry out such destructive market practices," said Attorney General Becerra. "We applaud today's ruling because moving forward with the agreement is simply in the public's best interest. We look forward to finalizing the settlement that Sutter agreed to in 2019 and to ending these abusive market practices. It is essential that we protect patients who may be confronting tough financial decisions, like choosing between paying for necessary medical care and paying for their food or rent.”
 
Additional information on the ongoing settlement proceeding can be found here. A copy of the tentative ruling that the Court adopted at the hearing today can be found here.

# # #