Business

Group resolves FTC allegations

NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted April 25, 2005

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A group of Chicago-area physicians has reached an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission to resolve price-fixing allegations raised in a broader complaint about a hospital merger.

Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Corp. said it voluntarily signed a consent order, without admitting any wrongdoing, which calls for its ENH Medical Group to cease negotiating fee-for-service contracts on behalf of independent physicians.

The FTC had alleged that price-fixing occurred when Evanston Northwestern took over Highland Park Hospital and folded an independent physician association into the larger ENH Medical Group, which then allegedly negotiated with payers for uniform prices on behalf of nearly 1,000 salaried and independent physicians.

The FTC said the order, announced April 5, settles one part of its complaint against Evanston Northwestern over its 2000 acquisition of Highland Park. Counts alleging that the merger was illegal and anticompetitive are pending before an administrative law judge.

Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005/04/25/bibf0425.htm.

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