WASHINGTON, May 27 (UPI) -- Uncertainty over how U.S. antitrust laws would apply is blocking efforts by healthcare providers to work together to reduce costs, legal experts say.
For hospitals and other providers to work more closely together to wring the trillions of dollars of savings for which President Barack Obama is looking will take them into gray areas of antitrust laws, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
For instance, agreements among healthcare providers to set maximum prices for procedures, a key element of the administration's aim to reduce overall U.S. healthcare spending by 1.5 percent per year over a 10-year span, in 1993 were flagged as antitrust violations when President Bill Clinton pushed the idea, the newspaper said.
The American Hospital Association has reportedly told the Senate Finance Committee that because it's unclear how antitrust laws will be enforced, it "makes it difficult for a hospital and doctors to collaborate to improve care" and lower costs.
Consumer groups are also wary of efforts by providers to team up on prices, fearing that less competition will come at the expense of consumers in higher prices, the Times said.
