Q2 2022: Antitrust Enforcement Actions Flourish Against Healthcare Consolidation and Anticompetitive Contracting
It's been a busy month in healthcare antitrust land, both for federal regulators and private plaintiffs, as we saw an explosion of enforcement actions challenging both proposed mergers and anticompetitive conduct that stemmed from previous mergers. From New Jersey to Utah, large health systems such as HCA are being increasingly scrutinized and coming under fire for garnering and using their market power in anticompetitive ways. Merger Challenges Fresh from its appeals court win in the Hackensack Meridian and Englewood merger challenge, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is continuing its momentum and kicking off [...]
FTC v. RWJBarnabas Health & Saint Peter’s Healthcare System
RWJBH is the largest academic health system in New Jersey with 12 hospitals and collaborates with Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical Schools. Saint Peter’s Healthcare System is a Catholic system that includes Saint Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick, which is less than one mile from RWJBH. While the deal had obtained approval from the New Jersey attorney general and superior court, the FTC challenged the proposed acquisition, alleging it will give RWJBH a 50% market share for general acute care services in Middlesex County and eliminate head-to-head competition between the entities, leading to [...]
S 1428
This bill, the "New Jersey Public Option Health Care Act," creates the New Jersey Public Option Health Care Program in the Department of Health. The bill requires the Commissioner of Health, in consultation with the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance, to establish and implement the program, which will provide a comprehensive health insurance coverage option to every State resident who enrolls in the program. The health insurance coverage offered by the program shall compete in the market with insurance offered by private health insurers. Last Session Bill Number: S1947, A5029.
The Source Roundup: May 2022 Edition
This month in The Source Roundup, we cover articles and reports that examine: 1) the effect of private equity acquisition of hospitals; 2) the latest trends on hospital prices; and 3) ACA marketplace premiums at the state level in the last 3 years. Additionally, we highlight several cost containment strategies studied in recent reports, including 4) a progressive taxing proposal co-authored by The Source team, 5) establishing a state cost commission in California with lessons from other states, and 6) purchaser-led efforts to reduce healthcare costs. Consolidation and Competition On the topic of [...]