Competition
[Sutter Case Watch] The Landmark Sutter Health Antitrust Case was Settled. Will COVID-19 Uproot it Like it Did Everything Else?
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor June 11, 2020
See case page: UFCW & Employers Benefit Trust v. Sutter Health When Sutter Health reached a preliminary settlement agreement with California Attorney General Xavier Becerra restricting its anticompetitive practices, antitrust experts breathed a collective sigh of relief on clinching a favorable outcome. Then came COVID-19. As with all other aspects of business and life, the pandemic has turned existing order upside down. Will it throw a wrench in the all but finalized case that would’ve served as strong guidance to other health systems in the country? The terms of the …
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[In the Press] Source Executive Editor Interview Quoted in Los Angeles Times Regarding SB 977
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor June 8, 2020
The Source Executive Editor Jaime King was recently quoted in the Los Angeles Times article “California seeks more power to fight healthcare mergers,” regarding SB 977, a bill that would grant significantly more merger review power to the Attorney General in California: “The best way to prevent problems from occurring in a merger is just to prevent the merger altogether,” said Jaime King, associate dean at UC Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. “It’s really hard to unwind a merger after you’ve already done it.” SB 977 incorporated …
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The Source Roundup: June 2020 Edition
Kendall Kohlmeyer, Student Fellow June 1, 2020
The Source continues to extend wishes of safety and good health to you and your loved ones during this uniquely challenging time. Despite the reality that much of the healthcare industry suffers financial catastrophe due to the pandemic, experts note improvements in some areas. Authors this month expect some advancements to last and suggest how the U.S. should use them to diminish costs. Changes in Telehealth Will Likely Outlast the Pandemic In JAMA’s Implications for Telehealth in a Postpandemic Future, Carmel Shachar and co-authors affirm positive outcomes that the …
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AB 2036 Seeks to Rectify a Loophole in California AG Merger Oversight But Can Go Further
Sammy Chang, Health Policy Researcher May 13, 2020
As California continues to shelter in place and limit the spread of COVID-19, the California Legislature is forced to cut the number of bills it can consider this session. However, as hospitals struggle financially and possibly seek mergers to survive, merger oversight over nonprofit hospitals is more critical than ever to maintain health access. Under California law, the state Attorney General (“AG”) can impose conditional approval for mergers or acquisitions involving non-profit health facilities. Two recent bankruptcy court cases have threatened the viability of these conditional approvals by limiting the …
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The Source Roundup: May 2020 Edition
Source Fellow May 1, 2020
By: Swaja Khanna, Student Fellow With the coronavirus pandemic causing shelter-in-place restrictions around the world, we here at The Source hope you are staying safe and healthy as we catch you up on some of the articles and reports in health policy this month. In this edition of the Source Roundup, we cover articles and reports that discuss: (1) the cost of hospital care for COVID-19 for the uninsured, (2) how health costs may change in the pandemic, (3) surprise out-of-network billing from ambulance transportation, (4) in-network ASC episodes that …
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[Publication] Examining the Authority of California’s Attorney General in Health Care Mergers
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor April 28, 2020
In a report just published by the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), The Source’s Sammy Chang, Tim Greaney, Katie Gudiksen, and Jaime King examine the California Attorney General’s merger review authority and compare it to those of other state AGs. As state antitrust enforcement can be used as an alternative to federal enforcement, the team suggests expansion of the AG’s oversight of health care mergers to address the escalating scope and impact of health care industry consolidation. Download the report “Examining the Authority of California’s Attorney General in Health Care …
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[Publication] The Source Advisory Board Members Discuss Proposed Federal Vertical Merger Guidelines in Health Affairs Blog
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor April 17, 2020
“The Proposed Vertical Merger Guidelines And Health Care: Little Guidance And Dubious Economics” Authors: Thomas L. Greaney and Richard M. Scheffler
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Litigation and Enforcement in the Era of the Coronavirus Pandemic
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor April 15, 2020
As society changes in unexpected ways due to the coronavirus outbreak, litigation and enforcement issues have come into the spotlight and become more important than ever. In this Litigation and Enforcement issue, we take a look at how COVID-19 is impacting healthcare markets and law and enforcement. Uncertainty From Outbreak Impacts Court Cases and Law Enforcement As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on globally, both essential and nonessential industries have been affected in unprecedented ways. Across the country, legislatures and courthouses have postponed or indefinitely suspended activities due to the …
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New Legal Resource Available: State and Federal Antitrust Enforcement Cases in Healthcare Consolidation
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor April 14, 2020
As part of The Source’s ongoing collaborative research series to present evidence-based analyses on strategies to address consolidating healthcare markets, we are excited to unveil a new legal resource table detailing major cases in federal and state antitrust enforcement of healthcare provider and insurer consolidation. This interactive table, now available on the Market Consolidation interactive key issue page, provides a short case summary of each case, and allows searching and sorting by keyword and criteria including year, jurisdiction, enforcement agency, and outcome of the cases. With support from Arnold Ventures and …
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Introducing the Source New Interactive Key Issue Page: Provider Contracts
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor March 2, 2020
We did it again! The Source on Healthcare Price & Competition is proud to announce that, in partnership with UC Berkeley’s Nicholas C. Petris Center on Health Care Markets and Consumer Welfare, we have launched another brand new interactive key issue page, “Provider Contracts”, which looks at the most effective strategies for states to understand and address the ability of providers with dominant market power to utilize contracting strategies to negotiate high rates. With support from Arnold Ventures, this new installment is part of a collaborative research series that leverages the latest and most comprehensive data on state laws, healthcare markets, and healthcare prices in provider …
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