[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 138 (Thursday, July 18, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47365-47366]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-18115]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


Public Workshop

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice of public workshop and opportunity for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') 
announces a workshop on September 9th and 10, 2002, on ``Health Care 
and Competition Law and Policy.'' The workshop will focus on the 
implications of competition law and policy for health care financing 
and delivery. The workshop will include consideration of the impact of 
competition law and policy on the cost, quality, and availability of 
health care, and the incentives for innovation in the field. The 
workshop will be held at and administered by the FTC.

DATES: A two-day workshop will be held on September 9th and 10th, 2002. 
Any interested person may submit written comments responsive to any of 
the topics to be addressed; such comments should be submitted no later 
than September 30, 2002.

ADDRESSES: When in session, the workshop will held in Room 432 at the 
FTC headquarters, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC. All 
interested parties are welcome to attend.
    Written comments should be submitted in both hard copy and 
electronic form. Six hard copies of each submission should be addressed 
to Donald S. Clark, Office of the Secretary, Federal Trade Commission, 
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20580. Submissions should 
be captioned ``Comments Regarding Competition Law and Policy & Health 
Care.'' Electronic submissions may be sent by electronic mail to 
[email protected]. Alternatively, electronic submissions may be filed on 
3\1/2\ inch computer disk with a label on the disk stating the name of 
the submitter and the name and version of the word processing program 
used to create the document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Hyman, Special Counsel, Office 
of General Counsel, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Room 568, Washington, 
DC 20580; telephone (202) 326-2622; e-mail: [email protected]. Detailed 
agendas for the workshop will be available on the FTC Home Page (http://www.ftc.gov/ogc/healthcare/index.htm) and through Angela Wilson, Staff 
Assistant, at (202) 326-3190 shortly before the workshop is held.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Health care spending in the United States 
totals

[[Page 47366]]

approximately $1.2 trillion per year, or 14 percent of GDP. Federal, 
state, and local governments account for roughly 46 percent of health 
care spending. Health care is the second-largest budget item for many 
states. It is exceedingly important that competition law and policy 
support and encourage efficient delivery of health care products and 
services. Competition law and policy should also encourage innovation 
in the form of new and improved drugs, treatments, and delivery 
options. Developing and implementing competition policy for health care 
raises complex and sensitive issues.
    The Commission has considerable experience in the application of 
competition law and policy to health care.\1\ This workshop will assist 
the Commission by providing timely information from varying 
perspectives on the impact of competition law and policy on the 
coverage and delivery markets in health care and on consumer/patient 
welfare. The goal is to promote dialogue, learning, and consensus 
building among all interested parties (including, but not limited to, 
the business, consumer, government, legal, provider, insurer, and 
health policy/health services/health economics communities). In 
addition to officials from the FTC, providers, academics, consumer 
representatives, employers insurers, and managed care organizations 
will be invited to participate.
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    \1\ See, e.g., Health Care Services and Products Division, FTC 
Antitrust Actions in Health Care Services and Products, http://www.ftc.gov/bc/hcindex/hcupdate020118.pdf.
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    Issues arising from the application of competition law and policy 
to health care have tremendous significance for the U.S. economy and 
consumer/patient welfare. The economic significance of health care is 
enormous, and will become even more so in the coming years. Consumer/
patient welfare is maximized by a health care system that efficiently 
delivers to Americans the services they desire.
    The Commission has an important role to play in this regard, 
through its dual areas of regulatory oversight of competition and 
consumer protection. Recent enforcement actions include several cases 
involving the pharmaceutical industry,\2\ and a number of cases 
involving physician groups.\3\ Other activity includes a forthcoming 
report from the Commission on generic drug competition, and a recent 
advisory opinion from the Bureau of Competition regarding ``partial 
integration'' of a physician group in the Denver area.\4\ The antitrust 
bar and academic commentators also have raised numerous questions about 
the messenger model for negotiation with payers, ``virtual'' 
integration of physician groups, and the future direction of 
competition law and policy in an evolving health care market.
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    \2\ See, e.g., Schering Plough Corp., Dkt No. 9297 (June 27, 
2002) (Initial Decision) (available at http://www.ftc.gov/os/caselist/d9297.htm) (claims resolved as to American Home Products 
with a consent order on Apr. 2, 2002); Biovail Corp. (consent order 
accepted for public comment, Apr. 23, 2002); Hoechst Marion Roussel, 
Inc., Dkt. No. 9293 (May 8, 2001) (consent order); Abbott 
Laboratories, No. C-3945 (May 22, 2000) (consent order) and Geneva 
Pharmaceuticals, Inc., No. C-3946 (May 22, 2000) (consent order); 
FTC v. Mylan Laboratories et al., (D.D.C., filed Dec. 22, 1998; 
amended complaint filed Feb. 8, 1999) Civ. No. 1:98CV031149 (http://www.ftc.gov/os/1999/9902/mylanamencmp.htm).
    \3\ See, e.g., Obstetrics and Gynecology Medical Corporation of 
Napa Valley, No. C-4048 (May 14, 2002) (consent order); Physician 
Integrated Services of Denver Inc., (consent order accepted for 
public comment, May 13, 2002); Aurora Associated Primary Care 
Physicians, L.L.C., (consent order accepted for public comment, May 
13, 2002).
    \4\ Staff Advisory Opinion Re MedSouth, Inc., reflected in 
letter dated February 19, 2002, from Jeffrey W. Brennan, Assistant 
Director, Bureau of Competition, to John J. Miles, Ober, Kaler, 
Grimes & Shiver, http://www.flc.gov/bc/adops/medsouth.htm.
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    Antitrust analysis traditionally has focused on restrictions to 
price competition. Competition routinely takes place, however, on both 
price and non-price parameters. Some have suggested that competition 
policy has given insufficient weight to non-price competition when 
analyzing particular transactions. Others have argued that competition 
policy must co-exist with other complicated laws and policies, and that 
the multitude of statutory commands sends inconsistent signals to 
providers who are simply trying to obey the law.
    The application of competition law and policy to health care raises 
complex issues. These issues likely will become even more significant 
in the coming years, as health care accounts for an increasing share of 
GDP and of federal, state, and local budgets. Thus, a workshop to 
explore these issues is timely. the workshop is intended to further 
fact gathering, learning, dialogue, and discussion among the affected 
parties, and result in a greater understanding of and consensus about 
the approaches to policy in these areas that are most likely to benefit 
patients/consumers.
    The workshop on September 9th and 10th, 2002, will provide a 
``snapshot'' of the coverage and delivery markets, and review the 
results of an empirical study of antitrust litigation during the past 
fifteen years, and the Commission's recent activity in the area. A 
variety of interested parties will be invited to give their perspective 
on the following general issues: the effect of competition law and 
policy on the health care industry, including the cost, quality, and 
availability of goods and services and the incentives for innovation; 
the current enforcement environment; the manner in which non-price 
competition (including but not limited to quality of care) is factored 
into competition law and policy; the consistency of competition law and 
policy with the requirements and incentives created by other federal 
and state laws and policies; and whether the 1996 Statements of 
Antitrust Enforcement Policy in Health Care joint issued by the 
Commission and the Department of Justice need to be updated. This list 
is not exhaustive, and parties submitting written comments do not have 
to address each issue.

    By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 02-18115 Filed 7-17-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-M