Health Care Antitrust

We recently represented Gwinnett Medical Center in its merger with Northside Hospital, clearing the deal through Federal Trade Commission review after a year-long investigation; Coventry, in connection with its $5.7 billion merger with Aetna; and Humana, in connection with its proposed $37 billion merger with Aetna. Other high profile matters described below range from provider mergers and joint ventures (e.g., ACOs) to successful defenses of industry leaders like Kaiser Permanente, Cardinal Health, and Owens & Minor in antitrust litigation.

Our antitrust practitioners provide practical and insightful advice and forceful representation in the full range of health care related antitrust matters including litigation, mergers and acquisitions and other transactions, as well as representing clients in connection with investigations by the FTC, Department of Justice, and state attorneys general. We work with the full spectrum of for-profit and not-for-profit health care entities, including providers, payers, and pharmaceutical and medical device distribution companies. We have attorneys with deep industry knowledge to help provide practical, business-focused advice in diverse areas of the health care industry and government programs, including extensive experience in the Affordable Care Act and health care reform, and attorneys who have testified before Congress, the FTC, and state health care bodies on health care competition policy issues.

Our Antitrust Litigation Practice has experience in both defending and pursuing antitrust claims. We have defended managed care organizations in provider network exclusion and boycott claims, and provider class actions challenging discrimination in contracting and payment terms. We have also defended hospitals in conspiracy and rate-setting litigation, and pharmaceutical companies and distributors against monopolization, restraint of trade, and price discrimination charges. We have also represented health plans as plaintiffs in lawsuits to recover overcharges.

Our integrated Health Care-Antitrust Practice makes us particularly effective in providing antitrust counsel to clients in this highly regulated industry. Delivering optimal advice requires sensitivity to the complex interplay of the market and regulation in health care matters, such as structuring joint ventures among service providers and payers, responding to investigations by the antitrust enforcement agencies, and helping clients protect themselves from the anti-competitive practices of others.

In handling the full range of antitrust litigation, transactional, and counseling matters for healthcare clients, we take pride in providing practical advice and effective representation.