On June 5, 2024, the US District Court for the Western District of North Carolina denied the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) petition to enjoin Novant Health Inc.’s (Novant) acquisition of Community Health Systems Inc.’s...more
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
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
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (AG Becerra) announced on Friday, December 20, 2019, the terms of a comprehensive settlement agreement reached with Sutter Health (Sutter), the largest hospital system in Northern...more
1/16/2020
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Cartwright Act ,
Case Consolidation ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Class Action ,
Disgorgement ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Final Judgment ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Monopolization ,
Private Right of Action ,
Qualified Health Plans ,
Settlement Agreements ,
State Attorneys General ,
Sutter Health ,
United Food and Commercial Workers Union
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
2018 saw a significant upswing in antitrust litigation against health care providers; 27 cases were filed in 2018 versus 17 in 2017. In the latest Antitrust Update for Health Care Providers, we discuss what caused the notable...more
6/5/2019
/ Antitrust Litigation ,
Competition ,
Cooperation Agreement ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Government Agencies ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Hospitals ,
Monopolization ,
Physicians ,
Price-Fixing
A recent decision by the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is important for competitors involved in joint ventures because it states what mode of antitrust analysis—the per se rule or the rule of reason—applies to the...more
5/23/2019
/ Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Competition ,
Conspiracies ,
Hospitals ,
Joint Operating Agreement ,
Joint Venture ,
Managed Care Contracts ,
Per Se Rule ,
Single Entity Rule ,
Summary Judgment
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
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. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Phoebe Putney Health System settled the FTC’s complaint that the health system’s merger with Palmyra Park Hospital violated the antitrust laws. Unique state statutes and...more