# 2026-22618: Justice Department Tweaks OhioHealth Antitrust Response After Missing a Comment

2026-22618, United States, et al. v. OhioHealth Corporation; Amended Response to Public Comments on the Proposed Final Judgment, is a Federal Register notice from Justice Department, Antitrust Division published 2026-11-05; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-06).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-22618
- As of: 2026-11-06
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Document number: 2026-22618
- Title: United States, et al. v. OhioHealth Corporation; Amended Response to Public Comments on the Proposed Final Judgment
- Type: Notice
- Agencies: Justice Department; Antitrust Division
- Citation: 91 FR 69865
- Published: 2026-11-05
- Effective: unknown
- Comments close: not stated
- Significant: no
- Touches household money: yes
- Regulation identifier numbers: none
- Last updated: 2026-11-06

## In one line

Justice Department Tweaks OhioHealth Antitrust Response After Missing a Comment

## Summary

The U.S. government and Ohio have responded to public feedback about their plan to fix competition problems with OhioHealth Corporation. They made a small update to address a missed comment but stand firm that their plan is fair and will protect the public. This means OhioHealth must follow new rules soon to keep healthcare competitive and fair.

## Effects PRIA read

- Existing Steering and Transparency Rules Voided: benefit, medium. The proposed Final Judgment voids any language in OhioHealth's contracts that prohibits, deters, prevents, or penalizes steering, steered plans, or price transparency. This change applies to OhioHealth's present contracts and is intended to let payors and patients consider lower-cost providers in t…
- Ban on Seeking New Anti-Steering Provisions: benefit, medium. OhioHealth is barred from seeking or obtaining new contract provisions that would prohibit, prevent, or penalize steering, steered plans, or price transparency. That means future contracts with payors in Ohio may not include new language that would stop members from being steered to lower-cost prov…
- No Penalties for Payors Offering Steering: benefit, medium. The Final Judgment prohibits OhioHealth from penalizing or retaliating against payors that engage in steering, plan designs that steer, or provide price transparency to their members. Employers, insurers, and plan sponsors in Ohio may be freer to offer steered or lower-cost plan options without fea…
- Ban on Most-Preferred Tier Requirement: benefit, medium. OhioHealth may not require that it be included in the most-preferred tier of any benefit plan. This lets payors place hospitals in lower tiers when appropriate, which can make lower-tier hospitals more attractive to members and employers seeking lower-cost care.
- Five-Year Court Monitor for Compliance: benefit, low. The proposed Final Judgment provides for a court-appointed monitor who will serve for five years and will have the power to investigate and report on OhioHealth's compliance with the order. The monitor's role is to check that OhioHealth follows the ban on steering and transparency restrictions duri…
- Preserves Competition for Hospital Services in Ohio: benefit, medium. Together, the Final Judgment's requirements are intended to preserve competition for inpatient general acute care hospital services to commercial payors and their members in Ohio, including the Columbus area. The United States says this will address the alleged harms that previously limited lower-c…

## Related documents

- [2026-19100](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-19100): United States of America, et al. v. RealPage, Inc., et al.; Proposed Final Judgment and Competitive Impact Statement, 2026-09-18
- [2026-18136](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-18136): United States v. KKR & Co. Inc., et al.; Proposed Final Judgment and Competitive Impact Statement, 2026-09-04
- [2026-16850](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16850): United States of America, et al. v. CRH PLC, et al. Proposed Final Judgment and Competitive Impact Statement, 2026-08-19
- [2026-16112](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16112): United States et al. v. Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. et al.; Proposed Final Judgment and Competitive Impact Statement, 2026-08-07
- [2026-14903](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-14903): United States, et al. v. OhioHealth Corporation; Proposed Final Judgment and Competitive Impact Statement, 2026-07-23
- [2026-14935](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-14935): United States v. Edwards LifeSciences Corp. and Genesis MedTech Group Limited; Proposed Final Judgment and Competitive Impact Statement, 2026-07-23

## Sources
- [2026-22618 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/11/05/2026-22618/united-states-et-al-v-ohiohealth-corporation-amended-response-to-public-comments-on-the-proposed)
- [2026-22618 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-11-05/pdf/2026-22618.pdf)

## Related
- [Previous: 2026-22616, Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-22616)
- [Next: 2026-22619, Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) 252, Notification of Proposed Production Activity; Fer…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-22619)
- [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-22618 (as of 2026-11-06).