FTC and DOJ Issue Proposed Statement of Antitrust Enforcement Policy Addressing ACOs
On March 31, 2011, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) (collectively the “Agencies”) issued a proposed Policy Statement setting forth the Agencies’ guidance regarding the application of the antitrust laws to the formation of accountable care organizations (“ACOs”) under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (together, the “Affordable Care Act”). As promised by the Agencies during a workshop on antitrust issues related to ACOs that was jointly convened by the FTC, DOJ, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) in October of last year, the Policy Statement would promote the formation of ACOs by (1) establishing that an ACO that satisfies CMS’s criteria for participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program is sufficiently integrated to qualify for analysis under the rule of reason in determining its competitive impact; (2) identifying specific criteria that will be used by the Agencies to calculate an ACO’s share of its market for purposes of evaluating the competitive impact of the ACO; (3) creating an antitrust “safety zone” for smaller ACOs; and (4) providing for expedited review of larger ACOs, some of which will be required to obtain a favorable antitrust review from the Agencies before they can receive approval from CMS.
To read the full summary please click on the PDF document below.
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