FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AT
WEDNESDAY, JULY 24, 1996 (202) 616-2771
TDD (202) 514-1888
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT APPROVES NETWORK
OF EL PASO GENERAL SURGEONS
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- General surgeons in El Paso, Texas will be allowed
to form a network to contract with managed care plans and other third party
payers under a proposal approved today by the Department of Justices
Antitrust Division.
The Departments position was stated in a business review letter
from Anne K. Bingaman, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust
Division, to counsel for the El Paso Surgical Group.
The Department said that the nonexclusive network will provide general
surgical services in exchange for a capitated payment or compensation on
a fee-for-service basis with at least 20 percent of the fees due each
physician held back for a "risk pool." This money will be distributed
to participating physicians only if the panel of doctors as a group meets
established efficiency and quality objectives.
The information provided by the parties and third-party payers indicates
that the expected concentrations of physicians will not lead to the creation
of market power or anticompetitive effects.
Under the Departments business review procedure, an organization
may submit a proposed action to the Antitrust Division and receive a statement
as to whether the Division will challenge the action under the antitrust laws.
A file containing the business review request and the Departments response
may be examined in the Legal Procedure Unit of the Antitrust Division, Suite 215
Liberty Place, 325 7th Street, N.W., Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. 20530.
After a 30-day waiting period, the documents supporting the business reveiw will
be added to the file.
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