Barnes & Thornburg Favorably Resolves DOJ Antitrust Suit for OhioHealth

Barnes & Thornburg successfully negotiated a favorable agreement for OhioHealth with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Ohio attorney general to resolve an antitrust lawsuit over language in some of the health system’s managed care contracts.

Under the terms of the deal, announced on June 16, 2026, OhioHealth does not admit any wrongdoing and maintains its contracting practices were and are lawful and appropriate. OhioHealth will not pay penalties, fines or damages. The agreement still needs to be approved by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

The provisions at the center of the lawsuit date back as far as two decades and were designed to protect OhioHealth from insurer practices common at the time. The healthcare and insurance industries have since evolved and OhioHealth routinely renegotiates agreements with insurers in a competitive market.

The DOJ and the Ohio attorney general sued OhioHealth in February 2026, alleging the system used its market power to restrict payer plan designs in the Columbus area.

Based in Columbus, OhioHealth is a nationally recognized, not-for-profit, charitable, healthcare outreach of the United Methodist Church. Serving its communities since 1891, OhioHealth is a family of 35,000 associates, physicians and volunteers, and a network of 16 hospitals, three joint-venture hospitals, over 200 ambulatory sites and other health services across a 50-county area.

The Barnes & Thornburg team included partners David DeVillers and Bradley Love and counsels Kristopher Armstrong and Michelle Nicholson.