Health Care Antitrust Alert: DOJ Begins Enforcing Section 2 of the Sherman Act with Texas Hospital
3/1/2011
The Obama Administration’s Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) has highlighted reinvigorating enforcement of Section 2 of the Sherman Act and having a strong enforcement program in health care markets as two of its priorities. On February 25, 2011, those two enforcement priorities converged as the Antitrust Division and the Texas Attorney General’s Office filed a complaint against and proposed settlement with United Regional Health Care System of Wichita Falls, Texas. U.S. and State of Texas v. United Regional Health Care System, No. 7:11-cv-00030-O (N.D. Tex, Feb. 25, 2011). The complaint alleged that United Regional had violated Section 2 by entering into contracts that improperly inhibited commercial health insurers from contracting with United Regional’s competitors. This is the first case brought by the DOJ since 1999 that challenges a monopolist with engaging in traditional anticompetitive unilateral conduct.
