Competition
California Attorney General Sues Sutter Health for Anticompetitive Practices
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor March 30, 2018
See UFCW & Employers Benefit Trust v. Sutter Health case page. California’s attorney general announced today that his office has filed an antitrust and unfair competition lawsuit against Sutter Health. Attorney General Xavier Becerra said at a press conference that the state’s complaint follows a six-year statewide investigation that found the Northern California hospital giant engaged in anticompetitive conduct that drove up healthcare prices for patients and employers in the state. Specifically, the complaint alleges that Sutter engaged in “all-or-nothing” contracts with health insurers that restricted insurers from providing low-cost plan options …
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Litigation and Enforcement Highlights – March 2018
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor March 13, 2018
In this edition of the Source Litigation and Enforcement Highlights, we review 1) a pair of healthcare mergers approved by antitrust regulators, 2) the DOJ’s antitrust settlement with the last of four Michigan hospitals, and 3) another challenge against an insurer for overcharging for prescription drugs. Federal and State Regulators Greenlight Healthcare MergersIn the midst of a wave of healthcare merger deals across the country, state and federal regulators joined the nationwide trend by approving a pair of mergers last month.In early February, both the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the …
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The Source Roundup: March 2018 Edition
Source Fellow March 1, 2018
By: Katie Beyer, Student Fellow Happy March! In this edition of the Source Roundup, we cover four academic articles and reports from January and February. The topics this month include: (1) recent state solutions to reduce prescription drug costs, (2) legal challenges to Maryland and Nevada’s prescription drug laws, (3) how the CVS-Aetna deal could reduce healthcare costs, and 4) economic and demographic trends behind increasing healthcare spending. Recent State Solutions Aimed at Reducing Prescription Drug Costs Medicaid spending on outpatient drugs increased 25%, from $22.4 billion in 2013 to …
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Special California Assembly Hearings Provide Insights and Solutions to Increasing Healthcare Costs
Sammy Chang, Health Policy Researcher February 20, 2018
After the public outcry following last year’s tabling of SB 562 (Lara), which would have created a single-payer program in California, a special California Assembly committee was formed. The Assembly Select Committee on Health Care Delivery Systems and Universal Coverage began hearings in late October 2017 and adjourned on February 7th, 2018. While much of the hearings was a crash course on health insurance, some of them addressed high healthcare prices. This month, we will summarize two of the hearings that focused on understanding the origins of high healthcare pricing …
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Litigation and Enforcement Highlights – February 2018
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor February 8, 2018
In this edition of the Source Litigation and Enforcement Highlights, we review 1) an action against Allergan’s anticompetitive practice concerning its dry eye treatment Restasis, 2) the final conclusion to a highly contested West Virginia hospital merger, 3) an antitrust suit between Marion Healthcare and Southern Illinois Healthcare, and 4) another proposed Partners Healthcare merger. Shire Defends Its Antitrust Suit Against Allergan In response to Allergan’s motion to dismiss an antitrust suit filed in New Jersey federal court, Shire filed a brief on January 24, 2018, blasting Allergan’s claim that …
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The Source Roundup: February 2018 Edition
Sammy Chang, Health Policy Researcher February 2, 2018
Happy February! In this edition of the Source Roundup, we cover five academic articles from December and January. The topics this month include: (1) oncologists’ bias against biosimilars, (2) effects of recent mergers and acquisitions on the health system, (3) initial results from Maryland’s global budget mandate, and (4, 5) recent changes to the 340B program. How Oncologists May Be Biased Against Biosimilars In Behavioral Economics and the Future of Biosimilars, a commentary in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, authors Chad Nabhan and Bruce Feinberg …
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Litigation and Enforcement Highlights: January 2018
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor January 16, 2018
Beginning in the New Year, the Source will compile monthly litigation and enforcement highlights to keep our readers updated on developments in the area of healthcare mergers and acquisitions, antitrust actions, as well as other healthcare price and competition cases. This month, we discuss FTC’s win in a North Dakota hospital merger, Louisiana AG’s antitrust suit against GSK, and the review of a pair of Massachusetts healthcare mergers. FTC Wins Temporary Injunction against Merger of North Dakota Hospitals U.S. District for the District of North Dakota Magistrate Judge Alice Senechal …
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Crossing the Political Divide: Senate HELP Committee Hearings on Drug Prices
Katie Gudiksen, Senior Health Policy Researcher December 22, 2017
On December 12, 2017, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) held a bipartisan hearing on the cost of prescription drugs. This hearing was the third in a series of Senate HELP committee meetings on drug prices and was held in response to the release of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine’s report entitled “Making Medicines Affordable: A National Imperative”. At the hearing, Senator Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health Committee, noted that the price of prescription drugs was one of the …
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Private Antitrust Litigation in Healthcare Summit
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor December 14, 2017
The Source recently hosted an event on private antitrust litigation in healthcare at our home of UC Hastings College of the Law. The event brought together litigators, economists, and academics for an afternoon of lively discussion to share the challenges of and tips for litigating in this area. It was an opportunity for the type of interdisciplinary exchange that is at the heart of the Source’s mission. As a forum for resource and discussion of healthcare price and competition issues, the Source hopes to host additional events in the future …
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Healthcare Companies with a Conscience: How Benefit Corporations Can Reduce Healthcare Costs
Source Fellow November 9, 2017
By: Katie Beyer, Student Fellow As healthcare costs continue to rise from almost every angle, quality healthcare and treatment often come with a lofty price tag. Survival of private healthcare providers is contingent upon optimizing profits, such that a company’s motivation is driven by shareholder value instead of commitment to social responsibility. Good health at a fair price is often not the primary corporate goal for healthcare companies, but what if it could be? A benefit corporation is a new legal tool currently available in 33 states and allows private companies …
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