Our healthcare system is supposed to work for patients, families, employers, and communities. But across the country, a growing number of federal antitrust lawsuits tell a troubling story. When large hospital systems gain too much market power and use restrictive contracts to block competition, health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs rise, and ordinary people pay the bill.

Four major cases from New York, Wisconsin, Connecticut, and Ohio point to the same pattern. Dominant hospital systems are accused of using their leverage to prevent insurers and self-funded employers from building lower-cost networks. These lawsuits should serve as a wake-up call for Congress and federal regulators. The problem is not local. It is national.