Originally Published MX
September/October 2003
BUSINESS NEWS
FTC/DOJ Hearings to Focus on GPOs |
| Betz |
With Senate Judiciary Committee hearings recently concluded, the activities of health industry group purchasing organizations (GPOs) will now be a topic of consideration at upcoming joint hearings conducted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
GPOs will be the focus of the afternoon session on September 26, which, according to the published agenda, will explore “what current practices or attributes of the industry, if any, raise legitimate antitrust concerns.” The hearing will explore product bundling, sole-source suppliers, long-term commitment contracts, and other alleged anticompetitive practices.
The hearings are part of a series on healthcare and competition law and policy scheduled throughout 2003 and initially announced by FTC chairman Timothy J. Muris last November. The hearings are intended to examine “the state of the healthcare marketplace and the role of competition, antitrust, and consumer protection in satisfying citizens’ preferences for high-quality, cost-effective healthcare.” In making the announcement, Muris said, “The FTC will continue to address anticompetitive conduct in healthcare. In this task, the FTC is aided by its partners at the Department of Justice and the state attorneys general.”
The Health Industry Group Purchasing Association (HIGPA; Arlington, VA) has steadfastly maintained that GPOs are committed to “fair and open business practices” through its self-imposed code of conduct and other reforms.
HIGPA president and CEO Robert Betz, PhD, said that the organization “welcomes the upcoming FTC/DOJ hearing on group purchasing organizations. We believe that this hearing will provide policy makers and regulatory agencies an opportunity to learn more about the business practices of GPOs and how they benefit healthcare providers.
“HIGPA believes any outcome of these hearings will be consistent with previously released industry analyses by several legal, economic, and business experts, such as renowned antitrust scholar and professor Herbert Hovenkamp, The Lewin Group, and Muse and Associates,” Betz added. “These HIGPA studies document the competitive, clinical, and economic benefits that GPOs offer healthcare providers.”
Copyright ©2003 MX
