Changes Ahead for Healthcare Mergers?
Jerome Hoffman, Partner in the Antitrust, Trade Regulation and Competition and Health Law and Life Sciences Practice Areas, was quoted in a Nightingale's Healthcare News article titled, "Changes Ahead for Healthcare Mergers?"
In a recent press release, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) posed a series of questions regarding potential modifications to existing horizontal merger regulations, effectively opening discussions on the topic for the first time since 1992. This article considers the relevance of these discussions to the healthcare industry. Mr. Hoffman emphasizes the need for new regulations to address the special requirements of the healthcare industry, using the inability of current rules to establish market boundaries for hospitals as an example. To this end, he encourages healthcare professionals to actively participate in the forthcoming discussions as individuals and through their professional organizations. "They expect input from the big players, but the smaller organizations that don't have a big voice can still provide feedback. The FTC and DOJ need to know how they can help preserve competition, make it more robust, and preserve quality at a reasonable price," he said. To read the full article, please visit the link below.