The Federal Trade Commission And The Department of Justice Provide New Guidance: Antitrust Enforcement Against Health Care Providers to Remain a Top Priority

The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice (together the Agencies) recently issued a 361-page report "Improving Health Care: A Dose of Competition" (the Report). The Report, which was issued by the Commissioners of the FTC and the DOJ (as opposed to staff attorneys at the Agencies), describes the Agencies' current thinking on the application of the antitrust laws and their enforcement priorities in the health care industry. This article distills the key information that health care providers — including physician and other provider network joint ventures, hospitals and hospital networks, pharmacy benefits managers, group purchasing organizations, health insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies — need to understand to ensure their own antitrust compliance to avoid unnecessary antitrust problems or investigations and to benefit from the antitrust compliance and market competition of their suppliers, customers and competitors.

Overview: The Antitrust Agencies To Pursue More Cases And Seek Tougher Remedies

The Report recognizes the economic significance of the health care industry, affirms the applicability of antitrust prin...

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