The Justice Department monitors potentially anticompetitive deals in the healthcare industry.
“When it comes to antitrust enforcement and competition policy in the United States, there is no more important question than what we can do to safeguard competition in the healthcare sector,” Assistant Attorney General Andrew J. Forman said last week at a Washington, D.C., competition conference. in the health sector. “Health care represents almost 20% of our GDP and there are unfortunately too many competition issues that deserve review and discussion. »
Provider and payer consolidation is an area the Antitrust Division is particularly focused on as it relates to health care competition, he said at the Capitol Forum: Health Care Competition Conference.
“We are considering the consolidation of providers and payers. We question whether the primary rationale for much of this consolidation, so-called value-based care, holds the promise of lower prices and improved outcomes,” Forman said .
An area of consolidation within long-term care, as McKnight previously reported, CVS Health is adding home health technology company Signify Health and primary care provider Oak Street Health. CVS’ new health services unit unifies the company’s home health services, primary care and retail health clinics. The company’s reorganized business also includes a Pharmacy and Consumer Wellness segment as well as provider support capabilities.
Forman noted “the trend toward a more concentrated market structure with a few massive healthcare companies with strong stacks of insurance companies, providers, PBMs, pharmacies and/or other services under the same roof “.
“We wonder how this trend has impacted, or will impact, competition and power in the complex web of relationships within the healthcare ecosystem,” he said. “Is integration, as companies claim, a good thing? If done correctly, it could be. Or has consolidation led to… higher prices, less innovation, and deeper moats defending energy sources?
Going forward, Forman said, health care companies should expect close scrutiny of potential deals that could involve antitrust issues and, “where the facts and the law warrant it, we will not hesitate to to act “.
The Justice Department “will remain vigilant” in monitoring ownership transparency of health care entities, he added.
Additionally, Forman addressed issues related to working in the health care industry, such as wage disputes, non-compete and no-poaching agreements, and other workplace restrictions.
“In many communities across America, particularly in rural America, health care systems are the largest employers. We must continue to be vigilant in our investigations and, where appropriate, enforcement of antitrust laws on labor-related competition issues,” he said.
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