Northcentral University Antitrust Laws in Health Care Discussion Answer the question: Healthcare organizations should be completely exempt from antitrust

Northcentral University Antitrust Laws in Health Care Discussion Answer the question:

Healthcare organizations should be completely exempt from antitrust laws. Do you agree or disagree? Please explain.

Respond to the answer:

In health care, antitrust laws have played an integral role in protecting consumers from higher prices resulting from efforts to reduce or eliminate price competition. The antitrust laws have allowed innovative health care delivery systems to form and compete in the market. One could look to the success of managed care plans and make the conclusion that the success is related to the antitrust laws. Antitrust laws have prevented providers from jointly agreeing to increase their fees above competitive levels and pass on increases to consumers. The antitrust laws have prevented anti-competitive mergers that would result in decreased services, decreased quality and increased prices. Antitrust laws have helped in some arenas, but at the same time, the antitrust laws have not stopped efficiency-enhancing joint conduct that may have led to improvement in quality, increase in services and lower pricing.