https://mailchi.mp/12e6f7d010e1/the-weekly-gist-february-24-2023?e=d1e747d2d8

 Earlier this month, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) quietly released joint revisions to three healthcare antitrust policy statements which it now considers “overly permissive”. While two of the policies date back to the 1990s and relate to information sharing, the most significant, published in 2011, stated that certain ACOs were “highly unlikely to raise significant competitive concerns”. Instead, the FTC and DOJ say their policy will be to review these arrangements on a case-by-case basis. 

The Gist: While unlikely to alter the ACO landscape significantly, this new guidance signals a departure from Obama-era policies that gave outsized priority to ACO development in cost-reduction efforts. Until now, ACOs were passed over for scrutiny, while regulators focused on more traditional hospital mergers in an attempt to prevent outsized market leverage.

Moving forward, the Biden administration must strike a delicate balance between policies that encourage greater coordination amongst independent healthcare entities working together to improve patient care and lower costs, and the market leverage that such coordination can generate.