Two recent US antitrust class action settlements drew additional scrutiny from federal judges, showing that the allocation of settlement funds between a proposed class and their attorneys will be carefully reviewed for...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
Government contractors should be aware that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is taking new steps to scrutinize public procurement. The DOJ Antitrust Division’s creation of the Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF) means...more
11/7/2019
/ Antitrust Division ,
Bid Rigging ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
Corporate Criminal Fines ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Public Procurement Policies ,
The Clayton Act
Family-owned wholesalers brought a Robinson-Patman claim against the maker of 5-hour Energy alleging discounts given to Costco amounted to illegal price discrimination. A jury in California rejected the claim after a...more
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
Companies involved in the government contracting industry should take note that the government is honing in on anticompetitive conduct affecting government procurements. The federal government has demonstrated an increased...more
6/6/2019
/ Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Division ,
Audits ,
Bid Rigging ,
Competition ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fraudulent Procurement ,
Guilty Pleas ,
White Collar Crimes
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
The Attorney General of the State of Washington (the State) scored another victory last week in its federal antitrust challenge to Franciscan Health System’s (Franciscan) affiliations with two competing physician practices,...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced last week that it and the State of North Carolina have reached a settlement with Carolinas Healthcare System / Atrium Health relating to provisions in contracts between the health...more
In this Special Report, we highlight notable trends in antitrust litigation involving health care providers over the past two and a half years. Our complimentary update identifies the types of cases filed against providers,...more
On April 27, 2018, the United States Senate confirmed President Trump’s five nominees for Commissioners of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Three are Republicans: Chairman Joseph Simons, Noah Phillips and Christine Wilson,...more
Manufacturers of optical disk drives defeated electronics companies’, retailers’ and indirect purchaser plaintiffs’ conspiracy claims after seven years of litigation. On December 18, the US District Court for the Northern...more
On October 20, 2016, the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued joint Antitrust Guidance to Human Resource (HR) Professionals (the Guidance) involved in hiring...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
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
In a 6–3 decision issued February 25, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States held in North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners v. Federal Trade Commission that if active market participants control an entity—even a...more
3/3/2015
/ Antitrust Litigation ,
Dentists ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Immunity ,
Licensing Rules ,
Market Participants ,
NC Board of Dental Examiners v FTC ,
Restraint of Trade ,
SCOTUS ,
State Action Immunity ,
State Agencies
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
During the last several years, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken an active role in antitrust enforcement in the health care industry, particularly with respect to hospital and physician group acquisitions. Last...more
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
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