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A federal judge in North Carolina has denied HCA Healthcare's attempt to dismiss a proposed class action lawsuit accusing it of scheming to restrict competition and artificially drive up costs for health plans. The plaintiffs "plausibly assert that defendants' conduct has harmed competition," Chief U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger ruled.

The lawsuit alleges that HCA engaged in an "anticompetitive scheme involving the illegal maintenance and enhancement of monopoly power" in the acute care hospital and outpatient care markets in seven counties in North Carolina. The allegations focus on HCA's 2019 acquisition of Mission Health, based in Ashville, N.C.

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