Calling the states health care costs artificially high, N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper says he will examine whether to use antitrust laws or new legislation to reduce them.

Im concerned about this issue, Cooper told the Observer. Health care costs are high enough without artificial boosts that could come from lack of competition.

Coopers announcement comes in the wake of antitrust investigations into hospitals in other states. It also follows an Observer story showing large nonprofit hospitals are dramatically inflating prices on chemotherapy drugs at a time when they are cornering more of the market on cancer care.

In a joint investigation published last month, the Observer and The News & Observer of Raleigh found hospitals are routinely marking up prices on cancer drugs two to 10 times over cost. At the same time, hospitals are increasingly buying the practices of independent oncologists, then charging more for the same chemotherapy in the same office.

A previous investigation by the two newspapers, published in April, showed consolidation has given hospitals leverage to demand higher payments from insurance companies. That investigation also found North Carolina hospitals are among the most powerful interest groups in state politics, a fact that could neutralize any push for legislative reform.

Cooper said theres little question health care costs too much. The issue, he says, is whether a recent increase in consolidation has contributed to that problem. His staff will study whether antitrust laws which are designed to prohibit monopolies and other anticompetitive arrangements are the right tool for reducing costs.

Cooper said his lawyers will talk with officials from the Federal Trade Commission and with attorneys general in other states who have used antitrust laws to investigate consolidation.

A number of hospital systems in North Carolina have grown into profitable, fast-growing giants. Carolinas HealthCare System, a $7 billion chain that runs more than 30 hospitals, has built more than $2 billion in investments and owns more than $1 billion in property. Now the nations second-largest public hospital system, it has posted average annual profits of more than $300 million in the past three years.

Novant Health, which owns 13 hospitals, generates more than $3 billion in annual revenue. The two systems own all hospitals in Mecklenburg.

The newspapers April investigation found Charlotte-area hospitals generate some of the nations largest profit margins. The regions hospital prices are about 5 percent higher than the national average, and comparable to those of larger cities, according to Aetna insurance company.

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N.C. Attorney General eyes 'artificial' hospital pricing