Portal allows public reporting of anti-competitive behaviors

A new online portal allows the public to report any anti-competitive behaviors they see in the healthcare sector that may be impacting quality of care and affordability.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Justice Department, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) launched the portal HealthyCompetition.gov on April 18th to further the Biden Administration’s efforts to lower healthcare costs and create more competitive healthcare markets.

“Americans depend on competitive health care markets to provide quality choices and lower costs for coverage. That’s why we are working to tackle anticompetitive practices in the health care markets,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “The Biden-Harris Administration and HHS know it is our responsibility to stop monopolistic, anti-competitive practices that undermine the delivery of health care to Americans. The information provided by the public will help to root out these behaviors.”

The FTC and Justice Department’s Antitrust Division will review complaints submitted by the public through the online portal. If the complaint raises sufficient concern under anti-trust laws, such as the Sherman Act, Clayton Act, Federal Trade Commission Act, and the Robinson-Patman Act, or is related to HHS authority, it will be further investigated by the appropriate agency. Examples of anti-competitive behaviors the portal encourages the public to report include instances of consolidation, fair wage issues for healthcare workers, collusion or price fixing among competitors, and prevention of price transparency.

Complaints may lead to the opening of a formal investigation, the government officials said.

“All too often, we hear how unfair methods of competition and monopolistic practices may be depriving Americans of access to affordable, high-quality healthcare,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. “This joint initiative between, FTC, DOJ, and HHS will provide a crucial channel for the agencies to hear from the public, bolstering our work to check illegal business practices that harm consumers and workers alike.”

The Biden Administration has targeted healthcare consolidation as a driver of anti-competitive behaviors in the market, leading to higher healthcare costs for patients and the healthcare systems at large. The Administration has raised concerns about corporate greed in the sector, as well as merger and acquisition deals like roll-ups that evade current anti-trust laws.

Just this month, a new report from the Physicians Advocacy Institute (PAI) and Avalere Health found that nearly four in five physicians are employed by hospitals, health systems, or other corporate entities as of January 1, 2024. About a decade ago, approximately a quarter of physicians (25.8%) were employed by these larger healthcare organizations.

A growing body of literature shows that this consolidation, alongside heightened merger and acquisition activity over the last decade, as increased prices for healthcare services without significant differences in quality of care.