On June 15, 2021, in a 69–28 vote, the Senate confirmed Lina Khan to fill the current vacancy at the Commissioner level of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”). Immediately upon her confirmation, President Biden tapped Ms....more
The roll out of the Office of the National Coordinator’s (ONC) 21st Century Cures Act Interoperability and Information Blocking Rules is reminiscent of the way HIPAA has rolled out over the course of the past 25 years. As of...more
On May 19, 2021, the Senate Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights of the Committee of the Judiciary held a hearing on Antitrust Applied: Hospital Consolidation Concerns and Solutions. The...more
The Multilateral Pharmaceutical Merger Task Force, a working group formed by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice, State Attorneys General, and counterpart enforcement...more
The vaccine passport has been a major topic of discussion as businesses and governments consider how to balance privacy and safety through the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine. Epstein Becker Green attorneys Patricia Wagner,...more
On April 22, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an opinion finding that the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) does not have the authority to order disgorgement (i.e., monetary relief) under Section 13(b) of...more
Cyber threats and cybersecurity controls have evolved significantly over the past two decades since the HIPAA Security Rule were originally promulgated. During this same time, healthcare entities have increasingly become a...more
Unlawful tying occurs when an entity with market power in one product (the “tying” product) agrees to sell that product but only on the condition that the buyer also agrees to buy a second product (the “tied” product), or at...more
On March 25, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) released its 2020 Annual Highlights report. The report’s statistics show that 46 percent of the Bureau of Competition’s enforcement actions related to the health care...more
Previously, as a member of the Republican-controlled Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter chided both the FTC Staff and her fellow Commissioners for, in her estimation, a failure to consider...more
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced new reporting thresholds for the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (“Act”). The new thresholds became effective on March 4, 2021. Unlike previous years, this...more
Section 7 of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. § 18) prohibits mergers and acquisitions where “the effect may be substantially to lessen competition, or tend to create a monopoly.” Although drafted in part to address potential...more
On January 14, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that it was launching a study to examine the impact of health care facility and physician group mergers. Accordingly, the FTC stated that it had requested...more
Joseph Simons, Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) since May 1, 2018, has announced that he would resign effective January 29, 2021. Following Chairman Simons out of the FTC are, among others, Bureau of...more
On January 5, 2020, HR 7898, became law amending the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act), 42 U.S.C. 17931, to require that “recognized cybersecurity practices” be considered by the...more
Commissioners Christine S. Wilson and Noah Joshua Phillips of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) used a recent FTC enforcement action challenging a hospital acquisition as an opportunity to issue a statement (“Statement”)...more
On November 16, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued its annual financial report. For the seventh consecutive year, the FTC has made the determination to issue an annual financial report and separately issue (in...more
Divestiture has long been considered an appropriate and effective remedy for anticompetitive horizontal mergers. The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), as reflected in the Statement of the Bureau of Competition entitled...more
On October 12, 2020, the California Attorney General issued its notice and third set of proposed modifications to the regulations implementing the California Consumer Protection Act (“CCPA”). These proposed modifications...more
On September 21, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that it was issuing an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“ANPRM”) related to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (“HSR”) and its...more
On September 17, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced efforts to revamp and increase its retrospective research efforts. This retrospective analysis, which has been a continuing project for the FTC, “seeks to...more
On September 3, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) updated its Merger Remedies Manual (“the Manual”). This is the first update of the Manual since 2011, and it reinforces DOJ’s commitment to effective structural...more
The regulations for the California Consumer Protection Act (“CCPA”) were approved by the California Office of Administrative Law on August 14, 2020 and went into effect immediately...more
As organizations create joint ventures, the creation of a board of directors of the joint venture requires careful consideration. Section 8 of the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 (“the Clayton Act”) prohibits an individual from...more
When released in draft form for public comment on January 10, 2020, the Vertical Merger Guidelines (“Vertical Guidelines”) included a safety zone indicating that “the Agencies [i.e., the U.S. Department of Justice and the...more