Overland Park ? A physician-owned clinic has settled a federal antitrust lawsuit that accused a number of Kansas City-area hospitals and insurers of trying to drive it out of business.

Heartland Spine and Specialty Hospital of Overland Park filed the suit in 2005, claiming the group of hospital and managed-care networks had worked together to prevent Heartland from getting managed-care contracts. Being shut out of those patient networks caused extensive financial hardship, the 5-year-old clinic said.

The case attracted interest as it touched upon the ongoing national debate of how physician-owned specialty clinics are affecting the nation’s health care market. Hospitals claim the clinics cherry-pick the most lucrative clients while leaving the hospitals to cover the more costly uninsured and emergency care.

A federal district judge in October denied the hospitals’ motion to have the suit dismissed.

HCA Midwest Division; St. Luke’s Health System; Shawnee Mission Medical Center; Carondelet Health System; Coventry Health Care of Kansas Inc.; and Aetna Inc. recently reached settlements with Heartland.

The remaining defendants – North Kansas City Hospital; Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City; United Healthcare Inc.; Humana Health Plan Inc. and Cigna Health Care of Kansas/Missouri – agreed to settlements earlier.

“We’re very pleased to have this resolved and look forward to a very bright future, with the ability to provide patients choice in their health care decisions,” said Mary Nan Holley, chief executive officer of Heartland.

Most of the settlements were confidential and officials with those defendants declined to comment.

Bill Lynch, an attorney for Coventry, said his client’s settlement wasn’t confidential. He said the health care system agreed to re-establish a contract with Heartland for workers’ compensation cases and patients through Coventry’s First Health Division.