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12 Arizona hospitals might have conspired to suppress temporary nurse salaries throughout Arizona.
Investigation Source
- Arizona
Investigation Scope
Category Information
Investigation Topics
- Temporary Workers
- Unlawful Wage Fixing
Products or Services
- Nurse
- Temporary Worker
Injury Type
- Monetary Loss
Investigation Details
Two nurses in Arizona have brought class action complaints against the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association and 12 other Arizona hospital corporations, charging that for years they have conspired to lower the wages paid to temporary nurses at hospitals throughout Arizona.
The class action lawsuits charge that the hospital association -- known as AzHHA -- has coordinated the conspiracy by administering a registry program, used by many hospitals in Arizona, that was originally designed to improve nursing quality, but was turned into a cartel to depress nurses wages. AzHHA, with the active support and participation of many Arizona hospitals, controls much of the market for nursing services, and has forced nurses to accept low wages. In May, the U.S. Department of Justice and the State of Arizona sued AzHHA for illegally conspiring to set the wages of temporary and traveling nurses.
In response to that suit, AzHHA reportedly has agreed to abandon its anticompetitive practices, but that did not compensate nurses for the years of lowered wages they suffered. This class action lawsuit aim to do just that, by seeking damages for suppressed wages for nursing services beginning in 1997.
Other defendants named in the suit are: Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association Service Corporation; Banner Health; University Medical Center Corporation; Carondelet Health Network; John C Lincoln Health Network; Regional Care Services Corporation; Northern Arizona Healthcare; TMC Healthcare; Sun Health Corporation; Catholic Healthcare West; Yuma Regional Medical Center, Inc; Navapache Regional Medical Center; and Scottsdale Healthcare.
The class action lawsuits charge that the hospital association -- known as AzHHA -- has coordinated the conspiracy by administering a registry program, used by many hospitals in Arizona, that was originally designed to improve nursing quality, but was turned into a cartel to depress nurses wages. AzHHA, with the active support and participation of many Arizona hospitals, controls much of the market for nursing services, and has forced nurses to accept low wages. In May, the U.S. Department of Justice and the State of Arizona sued AzHHA for illegally conspiring to set the wages of temporary and traveling nurses.
In response to that suit, AzHHA reportedly has agreed to abandon its anticompetitive practices, but that did not compensate nurses for the years of lowered wages they suffered. This class action lawsuit aim to do just that, by seeking damages for suppressed wages for nursing services beginning in 1997.
Other defendants named in the suit are: Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association Service Corporation; Banner Health; University Medical Center Corporation; Carondelet Health Network; John C Lincoln Health Network; Regional Care Services Corporation; Northern Arizona Healthcare; TMC Healthcare; Sun Health Corporation; Catholic Healthcare West; Yuma Regional Medical Center, Inc; Navapache Regional Medical Center; and Scottsdale Healthcare.
Defendant Details
| Name (Stock Symbol) | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| Catholic Healthcare West | Catholic Healthcare West is the largest health care provider in California, owning and operating a number of hospitals and health care facilities. |
| Banner Health | Banner Health owns and operates a hospital system with facilities in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada, and Wyoming. Banner Health operates 22 hospitals and health care facilities. |
| University Medical Center | University Medical Center operates hospitals and health care facilities in Arizona. |
| Carondelet Health Network | Carondelet Health Network operates 11 hospitals and health care facilities in Arizona. |
| John C Lincoln Health Network | John C. Lincoln Health Network is a health system that includes two hospitals, physician practices, community outreach programs and the John C. Lincoln Health Foundation. |
| Regional Care Services Corporation | Regional Care Services Corporation does business as Casa Grande Regional Medical Center in Casa Grande, Arizona, which is a hospital. |
| TMC Healthcare | TMC HealthCare operates the Tucson Medical Center hospital and other healthcare facilities in Arizona. |
| Sun Healthcare Group, Inc. (SUNH) | Sun Healthcare Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides nursing, rehabilitative, and related specialty healthcare services primarily in the United States. |
| Yuma Regional Medical Center, Inc | Yuma Regional Medical Center, Inc. owns and operates a hospital in Yuma, Arizona. |
| Navapache Regional Medical Center | Navapache Regional Medical Center is a hospital in Arizona. |
| Scottsdale Healthcare | Scottsdale Healthcare operates hospital and health care facilities in Arizona. |
| Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association | The Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association is an organization of hospitals and health systems dedicated to advocate on the issues affecting the delivery, quality, accessibility and cost effectiveness of healthcare. |