Antitrust, competition, and health care reform

The goals of health care reform and the antitrust laws are similar: promotion of consumer welfare. Under reform, having large groups of consumers and providers will offer substantial efficiencies in purchasing and providing health care services but also will pose some antitrust risks. Health alliances may have excessive market power. Health plans and provider networks may have the potential to foreclose competition from actual or potential rivals. Mergers and joint ventures between providers will proliferate but may raise similar problems. Explicit exemptions from the antitrust laws-through federal or state legislation-may significantly limit the benefits of competition for consumers. A reformed health care system will not reduce the need for antitrust enforcement.