The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division announced Feb. 3 that it has withdrawn three outdated antitrust policy statements related to enforcement in healthcare markets.
The three policy statements that have been withdrawn are the Department of Justice and FTC Antitrust Enforcement Policy Statements in the Health Care Area (September 1993); Statements of Antitrust Enforcement Policy in Health Care (August 1996); and Statement of Antitrust Enforcement Policy Regarding Accountable Care Organizations Participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (October 2011).
“After careful review and consideration, the Division has determined that the withdrawal of the three statements is the best course of action for promoting competition and transparency,” the DoJ stated. “Over the past three decades since this guidance was first released, the healthcare landscape has changed significantly. As a result, the statements are overly permissive on certain subjects, such as information-sharing, and no longer serve their intended purposes of providing encompassing guidance to the public on relevant healthcare competition issues in today’s environment.”
“Withdrawal, therefore, best serves the interest of transparency with respect to the Antitrust Division’s enforcement policy in healthcare markets,” the DoJ added. “Recent enforcement actions and competition advocacy in healthcare provide guidance to the public, and a case-by-case enforcement approach will allow the Division to better evaluate mergers and conduct in healthcare markets that may harm competition.” 
Jaclyn Jaeger is a contributing editor at Compliance Chief 360° and a freelance business writer based in Manchester, New Hampshire.