About: Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor
Amy Y. Gu, J.D. is the Managing Editor for the Source on Healthcare Price & Competition. She holds a J.D. from Loyola Law School and a B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to joining the Source, she practiced civil litigation in the San Francisco Bay Area, and later engaged in corporate compliance and discovery, representing various global pharmaceutical companies. Driven by an entrepreneurial mindset and her talents for marketing and web design, Amy also co-founded and successfully launched a startup in e-commerce. She is excited to bring to the Source a unique set of experience and perspective from both law and tech.Litigation and Enforcement Highlights – January 2022
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor January 17, 2022
In this first issue of Litigation and Enforcement Highlights of 2022, we bring you a digest of recent merger review activities in healthcare provider transactions and look ahead to important antitrust enforcement actions in consolidation and anticompetitive practices that are pending on the horizon. Healthcare Merger Watch Centene/Magellan Although opposed by many antitrust experts, Centene completed its $2.2 billion acquisition of Magellan Health last week. In California, Centene and Magellan both operate as sellers of behavioral-specific healthcare financing services, pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) services, specialty pharmacy services, and Employee …
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Third Circuit Hears Oral Arguments in High-Stakes Hackensack Meridian Appeal
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor December 15, 2021
All eyes are on Hackensack Meridian Health’s proposed acquisition of Englewood Healthcare Foundation as the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the FTC challenge last week. As healthcare entities continue to actively pursue mergers and affiliations during —and in part driven by— the coronavirus pandemic, the outcome of this New Jersey merger may have significant implications for both federal and state antitrust enforcement across the country. In this post, The Source brings you up to speed with the latest developments leading up to the high-stakes appeal and …
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Spotlight on State: North Carolina
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor December 14, 2021
This is part of a series of summaries that highlight notable legislation and initiatives in health policy and reform of all 50 states. Check back on The Source as we roll out additional states each week. See North Carolina page. North Carolina is a state that is active in antitrust enforcement in the healthcare market. In addition to prohibiting most-favored nation clauses in provider contracts, the state is also the site of a major enforcement case that alleged anticompetitive contract practice in a lawsuit against Atrium Health (formerly Carolinas Healthcare …
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New Video Explainer Focuses on Primary Driver of High Health Care Prices: Health Care Consolidation
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor December 6, 2021
Health care consolidation has been on the rise for decades, leading to higher health care prices, not higher quality. Today, two-thirds of hospitals in the U.S. are part of a larger health system; almost 1 in 3 physicians now works in a hospital-owned practice. Many regions are dominated by a single system, leaving patients and families without access to affordable, high-quality care. Arnold Ventures recently released the second video in a series about high health care prices and the impact they have on health care costs and affordability for …
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FTC Restores and Implements Prior Approval Rule with Provision in DaVita Divestiture Order
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor November 15, 2021
In July 2021, President Biden’s executive order called on federal agencies to strengthen antitrust enforcement in the healthcare industry to promote and revitalize healthcare competition and price transparency in the U.S. In response to the call to action, the agencies, particularly the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), have mobilized and stepped up their efforts by providing additional guidance and oversight of consolidation in the healthcare market. In this issue of Litigation and Enforcement Highlights, we take a look at the FTC’s reinstatement and implementation of the prior approval rule, the latest …
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New Documentary Exposes the Alarming Trend of Hospital Monopolies and the Impact on Costs
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor November 8, 2021
The new film InHospitable is a timely documentary that follows patients and activists as they battle UPMC, a multi-billion dollar nonprofit hospital system that was making vital care unaffordable for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable patients in western Pennsylvania. The film highlights the urgency of holding large health systems accountable for their significant role in our broken healthcare system. Slated to have its world premiere on November 13th at DOC NYC, anyone in the U.S. can watch it online from November 14 – 28. Tickets are available here for in-person …
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Spotlight on State: New Mexico
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor November 2, 2021
This is part of a series of summaries that highlight notable legislation and initiatives in health policy and reform of all 50 states. Check back on The Source as we roll out additional states each week. See New Mexico page. New Mexico has made strides in healthcare price transparency and cost control. After a legislative mandate was enacted to establish an all-payer claims database, the state began its implementation with budget allotted in the 2019-2020 fiscal year. In recent terms, New Mexico also passed the Surprise Billing Protection Act, which …
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Webinar Recording Available: State Approaches to Mitigating Health Provider Consolidation and Its Effects on Prices
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor October 21, 2021
On October 21, the Milbank Memorial Fund and the Source on Healthcare Price and Competition hosted a webinar on steps that states are taking to foster more competitive health care markets and lower health care prices, featuring The Source Senior Health Policy Researcher Katie Gudiksen and state regulators from Connecticut and Oregon. The recording is now available to watch for free: Watch Recording Download Powerpoint Presentation (Katie Gudiksen) For more information, check out the 3-part Milbank Memorial Bank series authored by the Source team. The first brief called for collaboration of state and …
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Spotlight on State: Oklahoma
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor October 20, 2021
This is part of a series of summaries that highlight notable legislation and initiatives in health policy and reform of all 50 states. Check back on The Source as we roll out additional states each week. See Oklahoma page. Oklahoma operates a volunteer all-payer claims database. Approximately 1 million people’s claims are in this database, accounting for about 25% of Oklahoma’s total population. The legislature also introduced legislation to promote price transparency and cost containment in recent terms, including protection against surprise billing and a Right to Shop program that …
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California Attorney General Imposes Conditions of Price Cap and Prohibition of Anticompetitive Practices on Cross-Market Acquisition in Northern California
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor October 14, 2021
California is one of the leading states in healthcare antitrust enforcement. Following the footsteps of former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who led the antitrust lawsuit against northern California hospital giant Sutter Health, the new attorney general Rob Bonta continues to exercise the AG’s expansive authority with aggressive enforcement actions in the California provider market. Earlier in the summer, the AG’s office settled a lawsuit filed by Cedars-Sinai Health System and Huntington Memorial Hospital, with revised competitive impact conditions on the cross-market affiliation in Southern California to address potential harms …
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