Ramping Up: Antitrust Enforcement in Health Care

Originally published in Healthcare Michigan, Volume 41,  No. 6 It has been a rapid-fire start to 2024 with antitrust enforcers within the Biden administration ramping up regulatory scrutiny across the U.S.—and health care is at the center of it. These efforts started in December 2023 when the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC” or “Commission”) and Antitrust …

Between Absolute and Amorphous: The Draft Guidelines on Vertical Mergers: Commentary on the Draft 2020 Guidelines

Businesses at different levels in the supply chain of a product choose to merge (“vertical mergers,” compared with “horizontal mergers” where business at the same level in the supply chain merge) for a variety of reasons, many of which can be beneficial to competition and/or consumers. Vertical mergers can lead to efficiencies in supply chains, …

Is Your Physician Organization Complying with Antitrust Law?

It is not uncommon for a physician organization to act as an intermediary between its physician participants and third-party payers to facilitate the negotiation and acceptance of reimbursement rates and other payer contract terms. However, when facilitation becomes negotiation and a PO accepts contracts with third-party payers on behalf of physician participants, also known as …