Federal Trade Commission to help docs avoid anti-trust violations

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will host a workshop later this year to help doctors and hospitals collaborate on patient care without violating anti-trust laws.

The forum is designed to alleviate the fear among providers that the move toward integrated provider networks, which Congress is encouraging, will land them in price-fixing trouble with federal regulators.

Speaking before the doctors’ lobby this week, FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz attempted to draw the distinction. 

"If you fix prices — that is, if independent doctors jointly negotiate the fees they charge — we will make you stop. But if you join together to improve patient care and lower costs, not only will we leave you alone, we'll applaud you," Leibowitz said Monday, addressing members of the American Medical Association (AMA) gathered in Chicago for an annual meeting. "And we'll do everything we can to help you put together a plan that avoids anti-trust pitfalls."

As a key component of their new healthcare reform law, Democrats are encouraging providers to coordinate treatments as a way of streamlining care and eliminating costly redundancies. The idea is to move away from the current “silo” approach, under which doctors, hospitals and other providers are all paid separately for treating the same patient — often without communicating about their care.

Medical experts consider the establishment of more integrated accountable care organizations (ACOs) a promising model for reining in skyrocketing healthcare costs. But many providers remain wary, concerned that collaborating with their former competitors over costs might constitute collusion.

Leibowitz on Monday sought to temper those apprehensions.

“When we see a bona fide joint venture that is intended — and has the potential — to improve care and lower its cost, we won’t stand in the way,” he said. "The questions we ask are: What are the likely benefits of the collaboration? Are the joint negotiations reasonably necessary to achieve those benefits? And will the combined group be so large that it can raise prices?

Cecil Wilson, AMA's president-elect, hailed the FTC's announcement, saying the doctors' group will happily participate in the ACO workshop.