Antitrust Advisory: The Full FTC Affirms North Texas Specialty Physicians-Provides First Agency Guidance on Messenger Models
12/29/2005
In a unanimous opinion authored by outgoing Commissioner Thomas B. Leary, the full Federal Trade Commission (FTC) affirmed the November 2004 opinion by an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) that North Texas Specialty Physicians (NTSP) illegally fixed prices in its negotiations with payors. The FTC found that NTSP's actions exceeded what is permissible in the legal implementation of a messenger model. This is the first guidance the agency has given healthcare providers in the area of messenger models.
This publication reviews the ALJ's opinion, the full FTC decision, NTSP's suspect behavior and justifications, the remedy and messenger model lessons.
