Health Care – SLP – Anti-Trust In order to merge and operate in a joint venture acceptable to the FTC, the organization must be mindful of Title 15 of the U.S. Code, specifically Section 7 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. § 18, Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1, 2, and Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. In addition, due to the FTC's recent special interest in the mergers/joint ventures of health care organizations, particularly but not solely in connection with price fixing, the organization should assume that the FTC will take special interest in any merger/joint venture achieved by this organization. Ultimately, due to the complexity of the laws and the FTC's special interest in health care organizations, this merger/joint venture should be approached with competent and experienced legal counsel, complying with the FTC's "Horizontal Merger Guidelines" and transparently seeking the assistance of the Office of the General Counsel or its designee before, during and after negotiations with another organization with merger/joint venture in mind. ?
Health Care -- SLP -- Anti-Trust
The organization has enjoyed recent success but policies of the presidential administration have caused some apprehension on the part of many competing organizations. The present thought is to enter into a joint venture or some sort of partnership arrangement with other health care organizations in the community in order to improve the organization's market position and increase profits. The Board of Directors requests a written presentation, including identification and discussion of the various laws that govern joint ventures and competition.
In order to merge and operate in a joint venture acceptable to the FTC, the organization must be mindful of Title 15 of the U.S. Code, which deals specifically with "Commerce and Trade" (Cornell University Law School, n.d.). The organization wishing to enter a joint venture with another organization must be specifically concerned with: Section 7 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. § 18, Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1, 2, and Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. Section 7 of the Clayton Act prohibits an activity, including a merger, if its effect "may be substantially to lessen competition, or to tend to create a monopoly" (Federal Trade Commission, 2010, p. 4). Section 1 of the Sherman Act prohibits every contract, combination or conspiracy in restraint of trade or commerce as a felony punishable by a fine of up to $100 million for a corporation, $1million for an individual and/or imprisonment of up to 10 years (Cornell University Law School, n.d.). Section 2 of the Sherman Act prohibits monopolizing or attempting to monopolize any part of trade or commerce as a felony punishable by the same penalties as Section 1 (Cornell University Law School, n.d.). Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act prohibits unfair and deceptive acts or practices. "Unfair acts or practices" cause or are likely to cause substantial injury to consumers, cannot reasonably be avoided by consumers and are not outweighed by benefits to consumers or competition (Federal Reserve, 2008, p. 1). "Deceptive acts or practices" are material representations, omissions or practices that mislead or are likely to mislead a consumer and where the consumer's interpretation is reasonable under the circumstances (Federal Reserve, 2008, p. 1). The whole of Title 15 of the U.S. Code deals with commerce and trade, but those specific provisions particularly apply when attempting a merger/joint venture.
In addition to the specific laws pertaining to merger/joint venture, a health care organization must step into those business arrangements gingerly, as the FTC has pledged a special vigilance where the merger/joint venture of health care organizations are concerned, particularly avoiding an arrangement that would illegally fix prices of health care. Timothy Muris, the FTC Chairman, stated that the FCT "continues to see a wide variety of overt anticompetitive behavior in health care, along with some new variants" (Wysocki, Jr., 2002). In addition, there have been publications indicating multiple charges and settlements between the FTC and a group of obstetricians/gynecologists in Napa County, CA (Murray, 2002), IPAMG in Modesto, CA (Federal Trade Commission, 2009), and similar, larger cases involving health care (Murray, 2002). In sum, the organization should assume that the FTC will take special interest in mergers/joint ventures of health care organizations.
Due to the complexity of the laws and the FTC's special interest in mergers/joint ventures by health care organizations, this organization should take great pains, along with competent and experienced legal counsel, to comply with the FTC's published "Horizontal Merger Guidelines" (Federal Trade Commission, 2010), and with the assistance of the FTC's Office of the General Counsel (Federal Trade Commission, 2012). Realistically this compliance and assistance should be sought and used before, during and after negotiations with other health care organizations with which this organization might merge or enter a joint venture. Furthermore, the proposed contract itself should be passed by the FTC's Office of the General Counsel or its designee for approval before final ratification of the contract.
3. Conclusion
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