In a voluntary agreement with Colorado's attorney general, U.S. Anesthesia Partners will end its contracts with five Colorado hospitals due to its alleged monopoly in the state's Denver and Durango markets.
The agreement is not an admission of liability or any wrongdoing.
U.S. Anesthesia Partners is backed by private equity firm Welsh Carson Anderson & Stowe. In 2015 U.S. Anesthesia Partners started buying anesthesia practices in the Denver Metro Area. By 2021, the company bought all of its major competitors and established control of surgical anesthesia at the two largest hospital systems in the Denver area, which accounted for more than 70% of health plan reimbursements, according to a Feb. 27 news release from the attorney general. This allegedly resulted in higher costs for consumers and their employer-provided health insurance plans and delays in patient care.
In addition to terminating the five contracts, U.S. Anesthesia Partners will also release and modify noncompete agreements with clinicians. U.S. Anesthesia Partners will completely end its noncompete agreement practice within 18 months of the agreement taking effect, according to the release.
The company is not subject to any fines or penalties but has agreed to pay $200,000 to offset partial costs and fees incurred by the attorney general's office.
"We felt that it was in the best interest of our patients, health system partners and the communities we support to resolve the inquiry, regardless of its merits. Our resources are better spent taking care of patients than paying legal fees to defend ourselves against erroneous claims," U.S. Anesthesia Partners physician Henri Acosta, MD, said in a Feb. 27 news release from the company shared with Becker's.
U.S. Anesthesia Partners will continue to maintain a presence in several other Colorado markets, the release said.