FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          AT
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1995                         (202) 616-2771
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

              JUSTICE DEPARTMENT APPROVES FORMATION OF
           CLINICAL LABORATORY NETWORK IN CALIFORNIA

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Seventeen small and mid-size clinical
laboratories in California can form a network to compete for
business with other clinics in the managed care market, the
Department of Justice announced today.
     The Department said it would not challenge the proposed
network because its creation will not increase the risk of
collusive pricing.
     Members of the Preferred Laboratory Access Network will
compete with three large commercial laboratories for managed care
business, initially focusing on the health maintainance
organization population of greater Los Angeles County.
     The Network also will meet the geographic coverage
requirements of large regional and statewide health maintainance
organizations, including the state's Medicare program, MediCal,
which is converting to a managed care format.  California is a
mature managed care market, with large numbers of people serviced
under single contracts.

       The Department's position was stated in a business review 
letter from Anne K. Bingaman, Assistant Attorney General for the
Antitrust Division, to counsel for the Preferred Laboratory
Access Network.
     Market analysis indicates that the Preferred Laboratory
Access Network will not possess anti-competitive levels of market
power in any reasonably drawn market in California.  The fact
that the network proposes to operate in a non-exclusive manner,
allowing members to participate in other lab networks, further
reduces the risk that the proposal will harm competition.    
     Bingaman said the proposal could have a procompetitive
effect since it increases the number of large independent
laboratories that can serve regional or statewide health
maintainance organizations from three to four.
     Under the Department's 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
Department's response may be examined in the Legal Procedure Unit
of the Antitrust Division, Room 215 North, Liberty Place,
Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. 20530.  After a 30-day
waiting period, the documents supporting the business review will
be added to the file.

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