Ice Miller regularly advises health care clients on the unique implications that antitrust laws present in the health care industry.
Ice Miller antitrust lawyers provide clients with sophisticated, practical legal counsel in the highly complex Federal Trade Commission (FTC) area. We assist hospitals, health systems, laboratories, durable medical equipment (DME) and other providers to identify antitrust risks and develop and implement appropriate solutions to achieve business objectives.
Our antitrust practice spans several different areas of focus from proactively counseling on antitrust compliance and proposed business activities through government investigations and civil litigation.
- Help clients navigate the complex antitrust considerations that can arise in distribution agreements, research agreements, payor negotiations, group purchasing, information exchanges and strategic transactions, such as mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures.
- Defend clients in response to, or in anticipation of, state and federal antitrust investigations, including claims of alleged price fixing.
- Defend health care companies in civil antitrust litigation, including claims of alleged monopolization.
- Advise clients with regard to implications of provider mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and defend such transactions before the FTC.
- Assist client in the development of clinical integration programs, accountable care organizations (ACOs) and other provider managed care contracting networks such as IPAs and PHOs.
- Provide legal counsel on antitrust risks on managed care contracts, economic credentialing, physician conflicts of interest, integrated delivery systems, vertical integration and participation in information exchanges.
- Help clients avoid antitrust investigations and litigation.
- Develop and implement FTC compliance protocols, firewalls and training on appropriate policies and procedures.
- Mount defenses and immunities to potential FTC investigations and civil litigation.
- Represent clients before the FTC and in Federal Court in defense of any regulatory action or civil litigation.