FTC approves integrated physician network…for just the second time.
According to American Medical News, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has favorably reviewed a proposal for a physician and hospital network to contract jointly with health plans under a clinical integration program. In general, antitrust laws prohibit physicians from engaging in collective negotiation with insurers, but FTC guidelines allow for some limited exceptions to that rule. According to the FTC, a key to the approved deal was that the Rochester, N.Y.-based network will operate on a nonexclusive basis, so individual physicians can still contract separately with health plans. The physicians will also need to adhere to a set of clinical guidelines, such as disease management protocols, and refer within the network so that the network can monitor treatment outcomes. The only other similar FTC approval came in 2002, for a network based in the Denver area. For more information:
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