Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

FTC Pledges To Target Competition With New Healthcare Task Force

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is looking to address anticompetitive healthcare market activity with the formation of a new task force, according to an agency announcement. The group will be responsible for leading enforcement initiatives, creating coordinated agencywide strategies on investigations, identifying opportunities for FTC involvement in legal cases, and shaping new priorities for enforcement. Some examples of past actions include successful efforts to increase price transparency and terminate deceptive marketing techniques. FTC says the …

Do ‘Small-Scale’ Mergers Add Up to Medical Monopolies?

The ongoing growth of the urgent care industry despite naysayers and a challenging payer landscape speaks to the commitment of individual physician owners who recognized the benefit of a different approach to practicing medicine—for themselves and for the patient. As we’ve mentioned here, one recent trend has seen hospital systems gobbling up individually owned urgent care operations. While the government keeps fairly close watch on mega mergers—sometimes blocking them in the interest of protecting an …

Aetna-Humana Merger Bears Close Scrutiny from the Justice Department

The Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division has vowed to look “very, very carefully” at the implications of the proposed merger between Aetna and Humana. At the heart of their consideration will be how less competition among insurers will affect the price and availability of care for consumers. If the deal is ultimately approved by the government, there will be only three large, national insurance providers. A growing number of states are raising concerns about …

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