Portal Enables Public to Report Anticompetitive Practices in Healthcare

The U.S. Justice Department, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have launched an online portal to enable the public to report healthcare-related anticompetitive practices.
 
The online portal, HealthyCompetition.gov, allows the public to report potentially unfair and anticompetitive healthcare practices to the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and FTC. The new portal’s debut advances the Biden Administration’s efforts to lower healthcare and prescription drug costs and help create more competitive healthcare markets that are fairer to patients, providers, payers and workers.
 
“Competition in health care is crucial to ensuring fair and competitive wages across the healthcare sector and affordable and quality healthcare for all Americans,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Today’s launch of HealthyCompetition.gov—a one-stop shop to report potential violations of our competition laws to the Justice Department and FTC—will allow the agencies to collaborate early and often, helping to promote economic opportunity and fairness for all.”
 
“All too often, we hear how unfair methods of competition and monopolistic practices may be depriving Americans of access to affordable, high-quality healthcare,” FTC Chair Lina M. Khan stated. “This joint initiative between FTC, DOJ and HHS will provide a crucial channel for the agencies to hear from the public, bolstering our work to check illegal business practices that harm consumers and workers alike.”

Complaints will undergo preliminary review by staff at the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and FTC. If a complaint raises sufficient concern under the antitrust laws or is related to HHS authorities, it will be selected for further investigation by the appropriate agency. This action may lead to a formal investigation.
 
“Americans depend on competitive healthcare markets to provide quality choices and lower costs for coverage. That’s why we are working to tackle anticompetitive practices in the healthcare markets,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said. “The HHS knows it is our responsibility to stop monopolistic, anti-competitive practices that undermine the delivery of healthcare to Americans. The information provided by the public will help to root out these behaviors.”
 
 The privacy and confidentiality policies that govern information submitted through the portal, including any personal information members of the public choose to provide, can be found at DOJ Privacy Policy, DOJ Antitrust Division Confidentiality Policy Regarding Complainants and FTC Privacy Policy
 
HealthyCompetition.gov is the latest effort by the Justice Department, FTC and HHS to promote competition in healthcare markets to ensure that all Americans have access to high-quality, affordable care.