Common Problem…But Three-Way Solution May Draw Legal Attention

Washington, D.C-based Antitrust Group partner, and co-chair of the firm’s Health Care Group, Arthur N. Lerner talks about the antitrust implications surround the decision made by two Connecticut hospitals to form a three-sided joint venture with an investor-owned operator. 

According to Lerner, “antitrust enforcers do take into account whether a deal brings benefits to consumers that might outweigh the lessening of competition. They are skeptical if the tie-up does little more than give the two hospitals more bargaining power against commercial health plans, because then the benefits accrue to the hospitals, rather than consumers.