Competition
United Health Subsidiary Optum Sued for Anticompetitive Practices in Federal Lawsuit
Bruce Allain, Managing Editor December 15, 2023
Research indicates that concentrating control of healthcare providers and facilities into a handful of massive health systems leads to higher healthcare costs, without improving quality of care. There are often limited possibilities available for smaller marketplace participants who are attempting to compete with the giants in the field, especially when the giants engage in unfair business practices. On November 20, 2023, Emanate Health filed an antitrust with the US District Court for the Central District of California. The complaint alleges that Optum engaged in unfair and unlawful business practices and …
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Source Team Analyzes Importance of New Merger Guidelines for Health Affairs Forefront
Bruce Allain, Managing Editor December 13, 2023
In a new piece published in Health Affairs Forefront titled “How Will the New Draft Merger Guidelines Impact Health Care Markets?”, The Source’s Amy Gu, Katherine Gudiksen, and Jaime King examine new draft Merger Guidelines released by the Federal Trade Commissions and Department of Justice building on a previous executive order intended to strengthen competition and enhance antitrust enforcement. The authors analyze the new guidelines, as well as the harms caused by health care consolidation. The piece concludes that the draft merger guidelines break new ground by addressing the increasingly …
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FTC and California AG Jointly Challenge John Muir’s Acquisition of San Ramon Regional Medical from Tenet Healthcare
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor December 7, 2023
See case page: FTC and California v. John Muir Health and Tenet Healthcare Update: On December 15, 2023, John Muir announced it would terminate its proposed deal to acquire Tenet’s remaining interest in San Ramon Medical Center. On December 18th, the FTC and California moved to dismiss their federal court case and the FTC dismissed its administrative challenge. Federal antitrust enforcement continues to pick up pace even as we near the year end. On November 17, the Federal Trade Commission sued to block John Muir Health’s proposed $142.5 million …
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Oregon Law to Enhance Oversight of Healthcare Mergers & Acquisitions Faces Legal Challenge
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor November 15, 2023
In recent years, increased scrutiny over the impacts of consolidation in the healthcare industry has driven both antitrust enforcers and policymakers at the federal and state levels to enhance their efforts to address and remedy the source of the issue by improving oversight and review of potential anticompetitive healthcare mergers and acquisitions, both before and after the transaction. As the federal agencies review and revise their merger review guidelines and reporting requirements, several states have also introduced legislation to enhance their review and oversight authority of healthcare transactions in their …
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Recapping the 2023 California Legislative Session (Part 1): Regulating Market Competition and Health System Reforms
Dilani Logan, Student Fellow November 13, 2023
On September 14, the California Legislature concluded the 2023 legislative session when it adjourned for an interim recess. The session marked the end of the first year of the two-year 2023-2024 term. In total, the Legislature introduced over 3,000 bills this session – more bills than it has introduced in more than a decade; of which, 700 bills remain active. Like past sessions, the California Legislative Beat recaps the noteworthy bills from this session that impact California’s health care market in a two-part series. In this Part 1 of our …
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FTC Targets Private Equity Acquisitions in Latest Lawsuit Against Texas Anesthesiology Practice
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor October 16, 2023
Private equity investment in health care across the country has continued to garner the attention of health policy researchers and policymakers in recent years. Stakeholders are concerned that private equity ownership of physician practices prioritizes profit over patient care quality. Despite concerns of potential impacts on price and quality arising from these private equity transactions in the health care industry, few enforcement actions have occurred. Last month, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) took the lead in challenging one of these arrangements, suing a private equity firm retroactively in federal court …
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The Source Roundup: October 2023 Edition
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor October 2, 2023
Consolidation and Competition A Doctrine in Name Only — Strengthening Prohibitions against the Corporate Practice of Medicine (NEJM) Jane M. Zhu, Hayden Rooke-Ley, and Erin Fuse Brown The NEJM perspective examines state corporate practice of medicine laws that prevent ownership or control of physician practices by corporate entities. In an accompanying audio interview, Erin Fuse Brown discusses the role of these laws, including the usefulness and how they could be strengthened. Competition in Commercial PBM Markets and Vertical Integration of Health Insurers with PBMs: 2023 Update (American Medical Association) José R. …
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The Source and Petris Center Submits Comments in Support of Federal Draft Merger Guidelines
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor September 18, 2023
On September 18, The Source on Healthcare Price and Competition, together with UC Berkeley’s Petris Center, submitted public comments on the Federal Draft Merger Guidelines published on July 19. Jointly released by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ), the draft guidelines proposed new considerations and guidance in the antitrust review of mergers and acquisitions, taking into account new developments and market realities in recent years. These new guidelines would replace the horizontal merger guidelines of 2010 and vertical merger guidelines of 2020 which have been withdrawn by …
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California District Court’s Exclusion of Evidence under Scrutiny as Ninth Circuit Hears Oral Arguments in the Appeal of Sidibe v. Sutter Health Class Action
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor September 15, 2023
See case page: Sidibe v. Sutter Health On August 24, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the appeal of the federal class action Sidibe v. Sutter Health. A jury verdict in March 2022 in the Northern District Court of California had cleared the hospital giant of anticompetitive allegations that were initially filed over a decade ago. The alleged practices were also at issue in the case filed in state court by a labor union that was later joined by the attorney general, UEBT v. Sutter Health. …
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California Legislative Beat: Final State Budget for 2023-2024 Fiscal Year
Mary Mitchell, Student Fellow September 13, 2023
After much debate fueled by disagreement over California’s $31.5 billion deficit, lawmakers and Governor Newsom have finalized the state’s 2023-2024 budget. The final budget bill outlines a $310 billion spending plan that includes $248.1 billion for Health and Human Services programs,[1] up from $245.69 billion in the May Revision.[2] Stakeholders can breathe a sigh of relief: core health programs will not face budget cuts, and California’s commitment to health care generally, and Medi-Cal in particular, remains strong. Consistent with the proposed budget in the May Revision, California continues to move …
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