FTC Follows DOJ And Withdraws Antitrust Policy Statements

On July 14, the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC"), as anticipated, announced that it was withdrawing two antitrust policy statements related to enforcement in health care markets:

• Statements of Antitrust Enforcement Policy in Health Care (August 1996)
• Statement of Antitrust Enforcement Policy Regarding Accountable Care Organizations Participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (October 2011)

The FTC's withdrawal follows the Department of Justice's ("DOJ") decision to rescind the same statements in February 2023. (See our previous blog post.)

In withdrawing the policy statements, the FTC stated that it had determined that the withdrawal of the statements is the best course of action for promoting fair competition in health care markets. According to the FTC, much of the statements are outdated and no longer reflect health care market realities, and, given what it describes as the "profound changes" in the market over the last 30 years, the