The US DOJ withdraws policy statements in the healthcare industry to signal increased scrutiny on mergers, joint ventures, group purchasing and information sharing

The Department of Justice (DoJ) recently withdrew three longstanding health care focused antitrust enforcement policy statements that had provided certain “safety zones” for mergers, joint ventures, group purchasing, and information sharing among industry participants. Without these safety zones, regulators will likely increase antitrust scrutiny of dealings between health care industry players. They also may question previously sanctioned practices, especially around information sharing between hospitals, provider groups, payors, ACOs, and other health care delivery participants. Health care companies should work with experienced antitrust counsel to assess how their practices will fare under new antitrust scrutiny, regardless of technical compliance with the now withdrawn safety