The US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) announcement of the formation of a new healthcare task force signals an even stronger emphasis on addressing competition issues in the healthcare industry. Large, multisided platforms...more
On March 5, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) hosted “Private Capital, Public Impact: An FTC Workshop on Private Equity in Health Care” to examine the role of private equity investment in healthcare markets. The same...more
3/13/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Healthcare ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Public Comment ,
Request For Information ,
The Clayton Act
The FTC and DOJ’s proposed revised merger guidelines signal the Biden administration’s continued aggressive antitrust enforcement stance even as healthcare industry participants continue to seek to overcome the effects of...more
8/2/2023
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Hospital Mergers ,
Hospitals ,
Merger Agreements ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Physicians ,
Webinars
Historically viewed as recession-proof, 2023 is expected to be a challenging year for the healthcare industry as macroeconomic factors – inflation, high labor expenses, volatile markets, supply chain snarls and other issues –...more
2/24/2023
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Chapter 11 ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Investment ,
Mergers ,
Partnerships ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Telehealth ,
Value-Based Care ,
Waivers
President Biden recently issued an executive order affirming his administration’s policy of enforcing the antitrust laws to “combat the excessive consolidation of industry” and cited healthcare markets as one of several...more
7/15/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Biden Administration ,
Competition ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Investigations ,
Mergers ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Provider Relief Fund
The federal antitrust enforcement agencies brought three hospital merger challenges and three criminal antitrust enforcement actions in healthcare in the past year. Combined with the incoming Democratic administration,...more
The COVID-19 pandemic has placed additional stressors on labor markets, particularly for healthcare workers and essential employees. While recognizing that employers, recruiters and staffing agencies may need—and be allowed...more
On March 24, 2020, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and US Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a Joint Antitrust Statement Regarding COVID-19. In this statement, the FTC and DOJ recognize that public health efforts in...more
Hospitals and health systems are facing consumer demand for innovation, the need to expand and enhance streams of revenue and the push for improved quality, all while navigating changing regulations, federal enforcement,...more
2/6/2020
/ Antitrust Litigation ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
CMIA ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Hospitals ,
Medicare ,
No-Poaching ,
OCR ,
Popular ,
Ransomware
According to a new report by the Health Care Cost Institute, nearly three-quarters of 112 metropolitan areas across 43 states have “highly concentrated” hospital markets—showing a rise of such areas from 67% in 2012 to 72% in...more
10/28/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospital Mergers ,
Hospitals ,
Merger Reviews ,
Physicians ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
State Attorneys General ,
Webinars
At both the state and federal level, antitrust enforcement agencies continue to pursue successful challenges to physician practice transactions. This article summarizes two recent enforcement actions, as well as a new state...more
6/21/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Acute Facilities ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Appeals ,
Blocked Mergers ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Consent Decrees ,
Consumer Protection Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Horizontal Merger Guidelines ,
Hospitals ,
New Legislation ,
Notification Requirements ,
Physicians ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Price-Fixing ,
Purchase Agreement ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Section 7 ,
Service Agreements ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sherman Act ,
Size of Transaction Test ,
State Attorneys General ,
The Clayton Act
On October 31, 2016, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit handed another important victory to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the State of Illinois in a hospital merger case in Chicago, Illinois. This...more
On September 27, 2016, the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit handed an important victory to the Federal Trade Commission and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in a closely watched hospital merger case. The decision...more
On August 3, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) staff submitted public comments regarding the Delaware Board of Occupational Therapy Practice’s proposed regulation for the provision of occupational therapy services via...more
In March 2016, the US Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) staff submitted public comments regarding the telehealth provisions of a proposed state bill in Alaska demonstrating the FTC’s continued focus on health care competition...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Pennsylvania Attorney General (AG) have challenged the proposed combination of The Penn State Hershey Medical Center (Hershey) and PinnacleHealth System (Pinnacle) in Harrisburg,...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued an administrative complaint challenging the proposed combination of Advocate Health Care Network (Advocate) and NorthShore University Health System (NorthShore) in the Chicago...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Pennsylvania Attorney General (AG) have challenged the proposed combination of The Penn State Hershey Medical Center (Hershey) and PinnacleHealth System (Pinnacle) in Harrisburg,...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) held a public workshop on February 24–25, 2015, to examine recent trends and developments in health care provider...more
3/3/2015
/ ACOs ,
Acquisitions ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Antitrust Division ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Exchanges ,
Healthcare ,
Hospitals ,
Mergers
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed an Idaho federal district court’s decision ordering the divestiture of a physician practice group that had been acquired by a competing health system. The case, which...more
The Antitrust in Health Care conference took place May 13 to 14, 2014, in Arlington, Virginia, where a number of the speakers were representatives of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or the Antitrust Division of the U.S....more
The Supreme Court decision in FTC v. Phoebe Putney Health System, Inc., makes clear that state action immunity from federal antitrust laws is disfavored, and local governmental, quasi-public and private entities can only...more
In a February 13, 2013, advisory opinion, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Bureau of Competition stated that it has no present intention to recommend that the FTC challenge a clinical integration program (CIP) proposed by...more