WHAT HAPPENED
On February 3, 2023, the US Department of Justice's (DOJ)
Antitrust Division
announced the withdrawal of three policy statements related to
antitrust enforcement in healthcare. Although the withdrawn
statements focus on healthcare, DOJ's decision to withdraw
these statements will have broad impacts across industries.
The three policy statements, issued in
1993, 1996,
and
2011, relate to competitor collaboration and information
sharing, and established “safety zones” of activities
shielded from antitrust scrutiny. The 1996 Statements of
Antitrust Enforcement in Health Care (1996 Statements) were
revised and expanded upon the 1993 Statements. Though ostensibly
related to healthcare, the guidance has been relied upon by all
industries and understood to cover all manner of competitively
sensitive information. Two of the safety zones most often relied on
by companies relate to competitor exchanges of price and cost
information, and competitor joint
