Antitrust & Competition Healthcare Quarterly Update Q2 2025

Healthcare remains a key area of focus for antitrust regulators in the first six months of the Trump administration. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have for the most part stuck to prior positions taken in the healthcare space, including closely scrutinizing deals between direct competitors, pushing for lower healthcare and drug prices, and expressing concern over increasing consolidation of physician practices. However, the FTC and DOJ are not blaming these issues on the involvement of private equity and alleged "corporate greed" as was the case under the Biden administration, preferring instead to highlight regulatory burdens that act as barriers to entry and focusing on new healthcare policy initiatives. Additionally, the FTC and DOJ have demonstrated willingness to clear deals through settlements known as consent decrees, which involve divestitures or behavioral commitments by merging parties to take certain actions