The foundation of the United States economy is the foundation of free enterprise and market competition. The competitive market allows consumers to benefit from price reductions, increasing quality, and allowing consumers the freedom of choice. These ideas of free enterprise and market competition are so crucial that they are protected by Congressional antitrust laws. As the Supreme Court has explained, “Antitrust laws in general, and the Sherman Act in particular, are the Magna Carta of free enterprise. They are as important to the preservation of economic freedom and our free-enterprise system as the Bill of Rights is to the protection of our fundamental personal freedoms.” (Harris, pg. 197, 2014) The healthcare industry is incredibly …show more content…
(Harris, pg. 214-217, 2014) The question is that can Dr. Stuart state a valid claim against the doctors at General for their denial of her privileges under a three requirements of Section 1 of the Sherman Act? Do the providers at General have a defense against Dr. Stuart’s denial of privileges within the restrictions of Section 1 of the Sherman Act? Furthermore, does Dr. Stuart have a valid claim against the collaboration and coercions of General and Happy within Section 1 of the Sherman Act? Any application of Section 1 antitrust legislation must violate all three claims: proof of conspiracy, restraint of trade, and effect on interstate commerce. The first question poses the question of Dr. Stuart having a claim against General for violating section 1 of the Sherman Act. The Sherman Act is composed of three claims as previously stated. The first claim is the claim of conspiracy. In this claim, Dr. Stuart has no ground against the doctors of General. This is because “officers and employees of the same corporation cannot conspire with each other or with their corporation, similarly two parts of the same organization cannot conspire with each other.” As the decision was made solely by the physicians and administrators of General, they can not conspire with one another and therefore cannot commit conspiracy. (Harris, pg. 200, 2014) The second claim is in regards to the restraint of trade. The type of restraint demonstrated would most closely
In Regents of the University of Michigan the Plaintiff respondent Scott Ewing was dismissed from the University of Michigan after failing an examination. Ewing was a student in a six-year program wherein a student could after successful completion obtain both their undergraduate and graduate medical program. Successful completion required a student to pass the NBME Part 1 exam which I am a 2-day written exam.
On the local level, in Illinois, the FTC filed an administrative complaint against a merger between Rockford Health System and Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis (OSF) Healthcare System. The FTC argued that the merger “would lead to significantly higher costs that would be passed on to employers and to health care consumers in Rockford” and would harm local employers and patients (FTC.gov, 2011). The FTC further alleges that competition would be reduced and local business would be impacted by higher insurance rates and patients would see hikes in co-pays, insurance premiums and “other out of pocket expenses” (FTC.gov, 2011). Moreover, in violation of the Clayton Antitrust Act, the merger would have reduced acute-care inpatient services, and primary care physician services from three provider systems to two creating a monopoly and
In the issue of Cal Hockley’s steel mills, it is clear that the courts would find Cal Hockley in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act, even though the conduct
However, Dr. Stout had a “non-compete agreement with [the prior medical practice]” which limited his ability to work in the local area.
Is the US Healthcare system truly reflective of a free market economy driven by supply and demand? Initially, one would be inclined to think yes. In an ideal world, a free market is one which is driven by individual innovation and the concept that hard-work and ingenuity will be bestowed with success. Indeed, the biggest advantage of a free market is that it places the power of choice into the hands of the people. There is freedom to choose how you want to spend your money, what you want to spend it on, and whom you want to spend it on. Do you want to see a physician regarding a yearly physical? Open the yellow pages. You will more than likely find over 100 general practitioners in your immediate area to choose from. Do you want to spend your money on preventative care, early screenings, vaccinations, etc? Or do you want to spend your money on medications after you are diagnosed with an ailment? The main idea behind a free market is that prices will regulate themselves. In regards to the US Healthcare system, it is questions like
The respondents, NFL, moved for a motion of summary judgment on the Section 1 claim, arguing it was immune from antitrust liability as a single entity. In response, American Needle sought a continuance and asked the U.S. District Court to allow discovery, a motion opposed by the
The historical context of the Sherman Act lies in the corporate climate of the United States during the time period preceding the creation of these antitrust laws. At that time the market was dominated by several monopolies in industries such as railroads, tobacco production, meatpacking and coal mining. The US Government determined the monopolies did not provide enough fair competition in those industries to provide protection of consumers.
The balance between providing high-quality medical care and running a profitable business is a constant battle in the medical community. Thirty years ago, less than two percent of physicians changed jobs during their career. Today, approximately ten percent of physicians change jobs on an annual basis. As physician mobility begins to rise, the medical community’s need to protect its business interest become increasingly necessary. Physician restrictive covenants, or covenant not to compete provisions, have gradually become the prominent tool in order to facilitate that protection. As such, it is important to note and analyze the significant impact that enforcement of these restrictive covenants has not only on the business and the physician individually, but on third parties such as the community and the public at large. This paper will provide a brief outline the history of restrictive covenants, detail the application of those restrictive covenants in the healthcare context, and finally analyze the effects that judicial enforcement of those restrictive covenants has on the physician-patient relationship, the patient’s right to choose, and medically underserved areas.
I think you explain the concept in a clear manner. I just want to add about the how antitrust laws prevent industries from becoming monopolies, Antitrust principles promote competition and rivalry among providers of a service or good. Hopefully increasing the supply will lead to the best allocation of resources, and lower prices, in contrast with anti-competitive industries that would force the consumers to deal with the lack of choices and may raise prices too. Some might say that the Affordable Care Act could resemble a monopoly due to the fact that it enourages healthcare coordination and integration, but I think that since the system currently shows a high level of dissagregation that needs to be corrected in order to optimize the services
The United States is known for having a free-enterprise economy where a business can be conducted freely without government involved. In free-enterprise economies, goods and services are traded openly and are produced depending on the demand. People who support this type of economy believe it motivates businesses to make money and welcome new ideas. An important part of the economy is to have full employment and low inflation.
Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act prohibits the efforts of multiple firms to restrain trade by controlling prices and supply in a market (46 Case W. Res. 1033). In terms of a professional sports league, a
The Sherman Act was passed in 1890, which aimed at preserving competition as the rule of trade. In 1914, congressed passed the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Clayton Act. Some revisions have been added to the Federal Trade Commission Act, the Clayton Act, and the Sherman Act of 1890, the three acts are still at the core of federal antitrust laws in present time. Antitrust laws protect the process of competition for the benefit of customers, making sure that there are strong incentives for businesses to operate effectively, keep prices down, and keep quality up (“The Antitrust Laws,” ftc.gov, February 11, 2016). Healthcare practices that cause inefficiencies in quality of care that result in higher prices are a violation of the Sherman
A competitive market is one that allows easy entry and exit: a market in which companies are generally free to enter or to leave at will. This does not describe the health care market in the US. There are certain assumptions that the competitive market model operates under some assumptions, first is the consumer/patient has full information about the nature of the services required, the anticipated results of their decision and the benefits obtain from the service. This is not true in health care often time the patient is operating at a distinct information disadvantage when they require health care services such as insurance. If a patient purchases health insurance often they don’t know enough information to ascertain if they have
I enjoyed reading your post and although I chose the free market as being ideal, the reality is that oligopolies are more realistic and fair. I have worked in the healthcare field for the past 22 years and over the years I have seen a multitude of changes take place. In 1998, I worked as a referral coordinator. At the time HMO policies were the least expensive plans, however most of them were part of an Independent Physicians Association (IPA). The IPA was essentially a group of physicians that would see their own patients and be given a fixed payment per patient from the insurance company. Unfortunately you would usually wound up jumping through hoops to get an authorization for a patient approved. Like the old IPAs, affordable policies
There are many different forms of competition among health care organizations. Some of them are the prices of services, different co-pays someone will have to pay out of pocket, lower premiums, they have to be competitive in the quality of the service in which they perform daily. The health care competition is being advertised every day. The competitive nature of business cause them to reach out to the community. The health care industry has to fight for the approval of the community, the government, the insurance companies, the pharmaceutical companies and of course the stake holders as well as future investors.