The FTC/DOJ Health Care Hearings will cover a wide range of subjects relating to health care and competition law and policy. Each set of hearings will address a discrete topic or group of topics. The goals of the hearings include information gathering, consensus building, dialogue, and policy R&D. The hearings will culminate with the preparation of a report. Specific topics and scheduling are subject to change.
February | Overview of Issues Arising at the Intersection of Health Care and Competition Law. Perspectives on Competition Policy and the Health Care Marketplace. A Tale of Two Cities: Boston and Little Rock. |
March/April | Defining Product and Geographic Markets for Hospitals. Single Specialty Hospitals. Contracting Practices. Issues in Litigating Hospital Mergers. Hospitals - Horizontal Networks and Vertical Arrangements; Non-profit Status; Joint Ventures and Joint Operating Agreements; Post-Merger Conduct. |
April/May | Health Insurance Monopoly Issues - Market Definition; Competitive Effects; Entry and Efficiencies. Health Insurance Monopsony Issues - Market Definition; Competitive Effects. Health Insurance/Providers - Countervailing Market Power. Most Favored Nation Clauses. Physician Hospital Organizations. |
May/June | Quality and Consumer Information: Overview; Hospitals; Physicians. Quality and Consumer Protection: Market Entry. Noerr Pennington/State Action. Long Term Care/Assisted Living Facilities. Financing Design/Consumer Information Issues. Information and Advertising. Dietary Supplements. Mandated Benefits. Pharmaceuticals: Formulary Issues. Prospective Guidance. |
September | Physician Product and Geographic Market Definition. Physician IPAs - Patterns and Benefits of Integration; Messenger Model. Physician Unionization/Collective Bargaining. Physician Information Sharing. Quality and Non-price Competition: Providers; Payors. Privacy Issues. Remedies: Civil; Criminal. Medicare and Medicaid. International Perspectives on Health Care and Competition Law and Policy. |