
About Anna Zaret, Managing Editor
Anna Zaret is a graduate of University of California, Hastings College of the Law magna cum laude, where she specialized in law and health sciences. While at Hastings, she conducted research and published articles on genetic technology and end-of-life decision making. She has also worked on health law litigation in state supreme courts, and in the United States Supreme Court. She received the Tobriner Social Justice Fellowship for her work at the Center for Reproductive Rights in New York City. She externed for the Honorable Elizabeth D. Laporte in the District Court for the Northern District of California. She received a joint B.A. degree magna cum laude in Philosophy and History from University of California, Santa Cruz.Case Brief: Highlights from the District Court Decision Blocking the Aetna-Humana Merger
Anna Zaret, Managing Editor January 31, 2017
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia recently issued its decision in the Department of Justice’s challenge to the proposed merger between Aetna and Humana, two of the largest health insurance companies in the nation. The complaint filed in July 2016 alleged that the merger violated Section 7 of the Clayton Act. DOJ argued that the merger would substantially lessen competition in two markets: (1) the Medicare Advantage market in 364 counties, and (2) the ACA Exchange market in 17 counties. The decision, issued on January 23, […]
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Drug Money (Part 1): What Limits Competition in the Pharmaceutical Market?
Anna Zaret, Managing Editor and Grace Lee, Research Fellow January 19, 2017
Introduction In the last year, the public’s outrage about high healthcare costs became more narrowly targeted on pharmaceutical companies. Two major stories about price increases on pharmaceutical products helped fuel the public’s frustration. First in February, Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli testified before congress about his company’s decision to raise the price of Daraprim, the drug used to treat parasitic diseases, particularly occurring in HIV and AIDs patients, from $13.50 to $750 per dose.[1] And then in November, Mylan CEO Heather Bresch testified before Congress about a nearly 500 percent price increase of the epinephrine delivery device […]
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Academic Articles & Reports Roundup: December 2016
Anna Zaret, Managing Editor January 4, 2017
Happy New Year everyone! As we wrapped up 2016, we saw several fascinating and comprehensive articles published on competition issues in health insurance and provider markets, including articles discussing (1) the relationship between insurer market participation and provider market power|(2) economic models of decreased insurance competition|(3) the Anthem-Cigna antitrust trial|and (4) the role of quality in hospital merger cases. We hope you enjoy! Insurer Market Participation &|Provider Market Power Daria Pelech’s article Dropped Out or Pushed Out? Insurance Market Exit and Provider Market Power in Medicare Advantage (Journal of […]
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Happy Holidays! The Source Will Return in the New Year After Taking Some Time Off for Holiday Cheer!
Anna Zaret, Managing Editor January 1, 2017
We will post all the news, articles, reports and other info from our holiday break when we return in January! See you then!
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Source Advisory Board Member Thomas Greaney Discusses the Evidence in Anthem-Cigna Merger Trial
Anna Zaret, Managing Editor December 30, 2016
The first phase of the Anthem-Cigna merger trial ended on December 20, 2016 (see our blog post with updates on the trial here). In the case, DOJ is arguing that the $48 billion merger between Anthem and Cigna, two of the nation’s largest health insurers, violates federal antitrust law. To lay out the issues and offer predictions about how the court may decide the case, Health Affairs Blog published this article on the case by Source Advisory Board Member Thomas Greaney titled The Anthem/Cigna Merger Trial: Sifting Through The Evidence. In the post, Professor […]
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Pharmaceutical Pricing: Lack of Competition in the Pharmaceutical Market
Anna Zaret, Managing Editor and Grace Lee December 15, 2016
Pharmaceutical Pricing: Lack of Competition in the Pharmaceutical Market Introduction Rising healthcare expenditures have been a source of concern for many years, but more recently, the concern has begun to focus specifically on prices and spending on prescription drugs, and for good reason. In 2015, expenditures on prescription drugs rose faster than overall healthcare spending.[1] According to a report issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHS), while overall healthcare spending has risen at a consistent rate, pharmaceutical spending sharply rose from 2010 to 2014. The high prices […]
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Academic Articles & Reports Roundup: November 2016
Anna Zaret, Managing Editor December 1, 2016
Happy December! We hope everyone got some rest and had a delicious feast over the Thanksgiving holiday. Our roundup of November academic articles and reports covers publications on the following issues: (1) the effect of the Supreme Court’s decision in Gobeille on All-Payer Claims Databases (APCDs)|(2) pharmaceutical pricing|(3) price transparency tools’ impact on consumer choice of hospital|and (4) cross-market hospital mergers. APCDs In All-Payer Claims Databases – Uses and Expanded Prospects after Gobeille (New England Journal of Medicine), John D. Freedman, Linda Green, and Bruce E. Landon discuss how the […]
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Looking Ahead: The Future of the Affordable Care Act Under a Trump Presidency
Anna Zaret, Managing Editor November 17, 2016
Now that Donald Trump has won the White House, and Republicans have gained control in both the House and Senate, we will see modifications to the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) in the future, although it is not entirely clear what those modifications will entail. Some consensus exists, however, on at least three issues related to the future of the ACA. First, change on-the-ground is not going to be felt immediately, even if bills modifying the ACA are signed in to law quickly. This means, importantly, that nothing is going to […]
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Academic Articles & Reports Roundup: October 2016
Anna Zaret, Managing Editor November 1, 2016
We hope you had a happy Halloween! October’s roundup includes articles covering 1) price transparency|2) provider collaborations in California|3) antitrust doctrine on state immunity|4) payment reforms|and 5) consumer healthcare costs. For the next few months, we will be using the Roundup to focus on a few great healthcare price and competition articles, rather than reporting on a wider array of articles that came out in the month. If you think we have overlooked any interesting articles, please feel free to send us what we’ve missed! Price Transparency In The New […]
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Update: Carolinas Healthcare Cites DOJ Second Circuit Loss in Anti-Steering Case
Anna Zaret, Managing Editor October 17, 2016
October 2016 Update: We have been following the suit filed in June by the Department of Justice and the North Carolina Attorney General against Carolinas Healthcare System (“CHS”). The case involves a Sherman Act Section 1 challenge to “anti-steering provisions” in CHS’ contracts with insurers. Last week, CHS filed a supplemental brief arguing that the case should be dismissed because a new Second Circuit decision rejected many of the government’s arguments in an anti-steering case involving American Express. CHS’ brief extends on its line of attack on the DOJ’s complaint, […]
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