UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
BUREAU OF COMPETITION
WASHINGTON D.C. 20589
Richard A. Feinstein
Assistant Director
Direct Dial
(202) 326-3688
October 29, 1999
Robert R. Rigsby
Interim Corporation Counsel
Office of the Corporation Counsel
Government of the District of Columbia
441 Fourth Street, N.W., Tenth Floor North
Washington, D.C. 20001
Re: Physicians Negotiation Act of 1999
Dear Mr. Rigsby:
This letter is a response to your request for comment by Federal Trade Commission staff on the "Physicians Negotiation Act of 1999," Bill No. 13-333 in the District of Columbia Council. This bill is intended to permit competing physicians to engage in collective bargaining with health plans. As is discussed below, the Commission has opposed enactment of a bill currently before Congress, H.R. 1304, that would create an antitrust exemption for collective negotiations between health care providers and health plans. Such an exemption, the Commission stated, will not ensure better care for patients, and threatens to raise health care costs and reduce access to care. In my view, the District of Columbia proposal raises similar concerns.
In addition, it is doubtful that the D.C. bill in its current form would immunize physicians from liability for conduct that violates the federal antitrust laws. State economic regulation can immunize private parties from federal antitrust liability, but only where it satisfies the requirements of the "state action" doctrine. It is unclear whether enactments of the District of Columbia Council would be treated as equivalent to statutes of a state legislature for purposes of the state action doctrine. Moreover, even assuming the Council has the ability to confer state action immunity, the level of governmental involvement called for in the bill falls far short of the "active state supervision" that the Supreme Court has required to displace federal antitrust law.
Background
Antitrust law already allows doctors to collectively negotiate with health plans in various circumstances in which consumers are likely to benefit. The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice have issued health care policy statements that emphasize physicians' ability under the antitrust laws to organize networks and other joint arrangements to deal collectively with health plans and other purchasers.(1) In addition, health care professionals can, through their professional societies and other groups, jointly provide information and express opinions to health plans.(2) Legislative proposals to permit collective bargaining by health care professionals, however, such as the one pending in the District of Columbia, seek to authorize conduct that would otherwise constitute unlawful price fixing or other serious antitrust violations.
The Commission's June 1999 testimony on H.R. 1304 before the House Judiciary Committee explains its opposition to creating an antitrust exemption to allow otherwise unlawful collective bargaining by competing health care providers. The Commission's belief that such an exemption could cause serious harm -- to consumers, employers who provide health care coverage for employees, and to federal, state, and local governments -- is based on its experience investigating the effects of numerous instances of collective bargaining by competing health care providers. For example, the Commission, after a joint investigation with the Commonwealth of Virginia, issued a consent order settling charges that a group of physicians in Danville, Virginia, agreed on reimbursement rates and other terms of dealing with health plans, and agreed not to deal with plans that did not meet those terms.(3) The Commonwealth of Virginia collected $170,000 in damages and penalties for the increased costs the state was forced to bear in providing health care benefits to its employees as a result of the physician group's conduct.(4) Likewise, the Commission took enforcement action against collective fee demands by pharmacists in the State of New York that cost the state an estimated $7 million in increased health benefits costs for state employees.(5)
Without antitrust enforcement to block such price fixing, the Commission stated, "we can expect prices for health care services to rise substantially." Raising health care costs and making health insurance less affordable, the testimony observed, threatens to increase the already substantial uninsured population, and thereby reduce access to health care services. In addition, the Commission noted that the exemption could also allow physicians to collectively demand terms from health plans that would make it difficult for consumers to choose to obtain services from allied health care providers, such as nurse-midwives.
The Commission emphasized that immunizing collective bargaining would impose costs without any guarantee that patients' interests in quality care would be served:
Collective bargaining rights are designed to raise the incomes and improve working conditions of union members. The law protects the United Auto Workers' right to bargain for higher wages and better working conditions, but we do not rely on the UAW to bargain for safer cars. Congress addressed those concerns in other ways.(6)
The Commission's testimony also pointed out that other approaches to improve quality and protect consumers have been proposed that would not sacrifice the benefits of competition by granting collective bargaining rights to health care professionals, and briefly described some of those proposals. A copy of the testimony (Attachment A) is enclosed for your information.
I am also enclosing a copy of a letter from FTC staff discussing a collective bargaining bill in Texas (Attachment B). The letter notes that the Texas bill, while different in certain respects from the federal proposal, still carries substantial potential for consumer harm.
The District of Columbia Bill
The District of Columbia bill closely follows model state legislation on physician collective negotiations developed by the American Medical Association. In fact, the bill appears to adopt all of the provisions of the AMA model except Section 1, which is a declaration of legislative purpose. I will first discuss a few issues regarding the scope of conduct the bill seeks to authorize, and then analyze the question whether the bill would be effective in creating immunity from federal antitrust law for private parties acting pursuant to its provisions.
The Scope of Permitted Conduct
The collective bargaining permitted by the bill is subject to certain limitations not present in the federal proposal, but these limitations are ambiguous in some important respects. As a result, it is difficult to ascertain the precise scope of conduct that the bill would seek to authorize. In any event, however, the two primary ways that the bill limits collective bargaining -- the market share limitations and the ban on boycotts -- appear to leave consumers at risk of substantial harm.
First, the bill's reach depends in part on market shares of health plans and, to a lesser extent, physician groups. It authorizes collective negotiation with health plans, but negotiation over certain price-related terms is limited to situations in which the health plan has "substantial market power," which, under the bill's terms, exists when a health plan's market share exceeds 15%. In addition, under section 5(f), where a health plan has less than a 5% market share, the physician group may not exceed 30% of physicians (or of a particular physician type or specialty) in the health plan service area.
Although the bill appears to make the concept of market power an important limitation on some forms of collective bargaining, it is unclear how market shares are to be delineated or applied. According to the bill, substantial market power exists if the health plan has a 15% share of any of the following: (1) the number of covered lives as reported by the insurance commissioner; (2) the actual number of consumers of prepaid comprehensive health services; or (3) a particular "market segment," to wit: "Medicare, Medicaid, or commercial, managed care and health maintenance organization." Although category (1) appears straightforward, it is unclear to us what is intended by the other two categories. Moreover, it is not clear what geographic area would be used to calculate market shares, at least with respect to categories (2) and (3), or which payers are to be included in the market share calculations.
Aside from the ambiguity, however, the bill's provisions are not based on accepted concepts of market power in a legal or economic sense. Market power is, simply put, the power to raise prices above competitive levels, or in the case of buyers, the ability to reduce prices below competitive levels. Market share can indicate market power, but only if based upon a properly defined market. Even if the bill's categories correctly identified relevant markets, a 15% market share (let alone a share above 5%) is not a level ordinarily presumed to constitute market power.(7) In addition, the bill does not take into account ease of entry in assessing market power, as antitrust analysis ordinarily would.
The limitation on the "market share" of physician groups negotiating with small health plans (which sets a higher threshold for physician market power than for health plan market power) also does not reflect market power, and may understate the economic clout of a physician group. The 30% share limitation is based on the portion of physicians "in the health plan service area or proposed service area." There is no reason, however, to expect that a health plan service area would necessarily represent an appropriate geographic market for the physician services in question. Indeed, geographic markets for physician services may vary by specialty. A health plan service area could well be broader that the geographic market for physician services, with the result that the 30% cap would not prevent aggregation of physicians with substantial market power within the service area negotiating with very small health plans.
The other major limitation in the bill, section 2(b), which provides that "Nothing herein shall be construed to allow a boycott," also raises significant questions of interpretation and may not offer significant protection to consumers. First, its wording and placement could be read to suggest that the limitation applies only to the conduct authorized in Section 2, rather than the entire bill. If that were the case, other sections of the bill could permit physicians to engage in boycotts. Second, the term "boycott" has been subject to varying interpretations, in some cases being understood as collective refusals to deal to force a party to accept terms, and in others limited to refusals to deal with third parties to pressure another party with whom the group has a dispute.(8) It is unclear whether the bill is intended to bar agreements not to deal with health plans except on collectively-determined terms, or whether it would only prohibit agreements to withhold services from third parties (patients or others), in order to pressure health plans to accede to the contract terms demanded by the physician group.
The federal collective bargaining bill excludes from its authorization "collective cessation of services to patients" (i.e., boycotts in the narrow sense), and the Commission in its testimony (p.8) observed that "this limitation takes virtually nothing away from the coercive power the bill grants to providers." Furthermore, as the testimony explains, a collective refusal to contract, if it did not force the health plan to capitulate to physician demands for fee increases, could result in patients' having to pay medical bills out of their own pockets, and thus would impose formidable obstacles to patients seeking care.
Even if it were clear that the D.C. bill would not protect physicians' concerted refusals to deal with health plans, however, its authorization of collective bargaining would still present a serious risk of anticompetitive harm. As the Commission has previously observed, collective negotiations by their very nature can convey an implicit threat that if the health plan does not agree to terms acceptable to the physician group, the plan will be unable to obtain agreements with group members.(9) By immunizing, and thereby encouraging, agreements among physicians on the prices and other terms they will accept from health plans, the bill would facilitate coordinated conduct among physicians, such as collusive refusals to deal that, even though not immune, would be difficult to detect and prosecute. I would also note that the analysis that accompanies the AMA model legislation makes it clear that the bill's purpose is to allow physicians to exert "leverage" over payers in order to obtain more favorable terms. Thus, excluding concerted refusals to contract from the bill's protections would not appear to eliminate the coercive force of collective bargaining, or obviate concerns that the bill would increase the likelihood of concerted refusals to contract.
I would also note that the analysis in the AMA model states that Section 2 allows physicians to discuss managed care contract terms "free from the antitrust risk that normally accompanies such collaborative activity." You may wish to advise Council members that the antitrust laws do not prohibit the mere discussion of issues such as those enumerated in Section 2 unaccompanied by agreements on the terms on which the physicians will deal.
Immunity Issues
Under the judicially-created "state action" doctrine, states may override the national policy favoring competition and provide that aspects of their economies will be governed by state regulation rather than market forces. States, however, may not simply authorize private parties to violate the antitrust laws.(10) Instead, a state must substitute its own control for that of the market. To that end, the state legislature must clearly articulate a policy to displace competition with regulation, and state officials must actively supervise the private anticompetitive conduct. See California Retail Liquor Dealers Assen v. Midcal Aluminum, Inc., 445 U.S. 92 (1980).
A threshold issue is whether the District of Columbia is equivalent to a state for purposes of the state action doctrine, or otherwise has the ability under federal law to create antitrust immunity for private parties. I am not aware of any controlling authority on the question, and I am not in a position to offer an opinion.(11) It is, of course, a key question to be resolved, because if the Council lacks authority to create antitrust immunity through adoption of a regulatory scheme, physicians acting in reliance on the bill would be exposed to significant risk of antitrust liability.
Assuming, however, that the Council has the authority to create state action immunity, the critical question is whether the bill establishes a scheme with sufficiently active state supervision of private conduct to satisfy the second prong of the state action test. The bill's authorization of collective bargaining appears to satisfy the requirement of a state policy to supplant competition. But in order for state supervision to be adequate for state action purposes, state officials must "have and exercise ultimate control over the challenged anticompetitive conduct." Patrick v. Burget, 486 U.S. 94, 100 (1988). On this second requirement for immunity, the bill falls far short.
Section 6 of the bill provides that the representative who will negotiate on behalf of physicians must obtain approval from the Mayor to undertake negotiations. The Mayor is to withhold approval if "the proposed negotiations would exceed the authority granted under this act." Section 6(b). The Mayor is to make this determination within 30 days based on information identifying the representative, its plans and procedures, and "a brief report" identifying the proposed subject matter of the negotiations and the expected benefits to be achieved. In addition, the representative must furnish for the Mayor's approval, prior to dissemination, a copy of "all communications to be made to physicians related to negotiations, discussions, and health plan offers." The bill does not grant the Mayor the power to review and disapprove contract terms or other matters on the ground that they are unreasonable, unjust, or otherwise contrary to the interests of consumers.
The Supreme Court has made it clear that the active supervision standard is a rigorous one, designed to ensure that an anticompetitive act of a private party is shielded from antitrust liability only when "the State has effectively made [the challenged] conduct its own." Patrick at 106. It is not met where the reviewing state official does not evaluate the substantive merits of the private action. Id. at 102-105. Thus, the Court has held that a state did not actively supervise price arrangements when it did not establish the prices, review the reasonableness of prices, monitor market conditions, or engage in any "pointed reexamination" of the program. Midcal, 445 U.S. at 105-106. Active supervision requires that the state exercise "sufficient independent judgment and control so that the details of the rates or prices have been established as a product of deliberate state intervention, not simply by agreement among private parties." Federal Trade Commission v. Ticor Title Insurance Co., 504 U.S.621, 634-35 (1992).
The apparently limited nature of the Mayor's authority to review and approve the authorized private conduct alone makes the bill on its face inadequate to establish active supervision. Other aspects of the bill also raise questions as to the adequacy of supervision. For example, the limited nature of information that a physician representative must provide to obtain approval would raise questions as to the extent to which government officials have exercised "sufficient independent judgment and control." Indeed, it is unclear that the Mayor would even have sufficient information to determine whether the group's negotiations complied with the market share limitations of the bill. In addition, the bill's failure to specify a standard against which the Mayor would evaluate proposed collective bargaining activities further suggests that no substantive review is contemplated.
Parties claiming immunity under the state action doctrine bear the burden of establishing that they are entitled to such immunity. Thus, should the Council desire to go forward with a collective bargaining bill, it will be important to ensure that the bill establishes a regulatory scheme that meets the rigorous requirements that the Supreme Court has established. Otherwise, physicians relying on the bill's provisions to provide antitrust immunity would risk exposure to potentially significant financial liability for their actions.
* * *
I hope you find these comments helpful. The views expressed in this letter, of course, do not necessarily represent the views of the Commission or any individual Commissioner. Should you have any additional questions, feel free to contact me at 202-326-3688.
Sincerely,
Richard A. Feinstein
Assistant Director
Attachments
Endnotes
1. See Statements of Antitrust Enforcement Policy in Health Care, 4 Trade Reg. Rep. (CCH) ¶ 13,151 (August 1996) (available at www.ftc.gov/reports/hlth3s.pdf).
2. See, e.g., Schachar v. American Academy of Ophthalmology, 870 F.2d 397 (7th Cir. 1989); Statements 4 & 5 of Statements of Antitrust Enforcement Policy in Health Care, supra note 1.
3. Physicians Group, Inc., 120 F.T.C. 567 (1995) (consent order).
4. Commonwealth of Virginia v. Physicians Group, Inc., 1995-2 Trade Cas. (CCH) ¶ 71,236 (W.D. Va. 1995) (consent decree).
5. See Peterson Drug Company, 115 F.T.C. 492, 540 (1992). See also Pharmaceutical Society of the State of New York, Inc., 113 F.T.C. 661 (1990) (consent order).
6. Testimony of Federal Trade Commission before the House Judiciary Committee on H.R. 1304 (June 21, 1999) at 10.
7. See. e.g., Statement 8 of Statements of Antitrust Enforcement Policy in Health Care, supra note 1 (establishing antitrust "safety zone" for physician network joint ventures that constitute 20 percent or less of the physicians in each physician specialty in the relevant geographic market)
8. See Hartford Fire Insurance Co. v. California, 509 U.S. 764 (1993). In Hartford, which construed the meaning of the term "boycott" for purposes of the McCarran-Ferguson Act, Justice Scalia, writing for the majority, distinguished between boycotts and "concerted agreements to seek particular terms in particular transactions," which he termed "cartelization." Id. at 801-802. A boycott, Justice Scalia wrote, is limited to a refusal to deal with a party in order to obtain an objective collateral to the boycotters' relationship with that party. Id. at 801. He also pointed to a distinction in labor law between a strike, i.e., a collective refusal to deal with an employer to obtain better contract terms from that employer, and a boycott, involving a work stoppage designed to put pressure on some other employer.
9. See Michigan State Medical Society, 101 F.T.C. 191, 296 n.32 (1983) ("the bargaining process itself carries the implication of adverse consequences if a satisfactory agreement cannot be obtained"); see also Preferred Physicians Inc., 110 F.T.C. 157, 160 (1988) (consent order) (threat of adverse consequences inherent in collective negotiations)..
10. Parker v. Brown, 341 U.S. 351 (1943) ("a state does not give immunity to those who violate the Sherman Act by authorizing them to violate it, or declaring that their action is lawful").
11. In American Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. Eastern Pay Phones, Inc.., 767 F. Supp. 1335 (E.D. Va. 1991), the court ruled that a regulatory scheme of the District of Columbia did not provide state action immunity, without discussing whether the District stands on the same footing as states with respect to the state action doctrine. An earlier case (arising prior to Congress' grant to the District of home rule powers) involving the District of Columbia Armory Board, a governmental entity, evaluated antitrust immunity claims with reference the Board's federal enabling legislation. See Hecht v. Pro-Football, Inc., 444 F.2d 931 (D.C. Cir 1971).