The American Hospital Association has outlined its concerns to the Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services over the proposed antitrust regulations for accountable care organizations.
The AHA delivered the following points to the agencies:
• CMS lacks the legal authority to issue regulations governing the application of antitrust laws or to delegate to the DOJ or FTC authority to block certain ACOs.
• The proposed rule inappropriately transforms antitrust enforcement into a regulatory scheme, effectively shifting the burden of antitrust review from the government to ACO participants.
• The required analysis is burdensome and costly. To perform all required calculations to apply for ACO designation will cost potentially several hundred thousands of dollars.
• The DOJ already uses a model of review in connection with transactions in the banking industry that would provide a more rational basis for assessing an ACO's competitive potential.
The AHA is also urging the Internal Revenue Service to issue guidance to assure hospitals participating in a Medicare ACO will not jeopardize their tax-exempt status, or generate unrelated business income tax, if they comply with CMS regulations.
Read the remainder of AHA's comments to the agencies regarding ACO antitrust regulations (pdf).
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The AHA delivered the following points to the agencies:
• CMS lacks the legal authority to issue regulations governing the application of antitrust laws or to delegate to the DOJ or FTC authority to block certain ACOs.
• The proposed rule inappropriately transforms antitrust enforcement into a regulatory scheme, effectively shifting the burden of antitrust review from the government to ACO participants.
• The required analysis is burdensome and costly. To perform all required calculations to apply for ACO designation will cost potentially several hundred thousands of dollars.
• The DOJ already uses a model of review in connection with transactions in the banking industry that would provide a more rational basis for assessing an ACO's competitive potential.
The AHA is also urging the Internal Revenue Service to issue guidance to assure hospitals participating in a Medicare ACO will not jeopardize their tax-exempt status, or generate unrelated business income tax, if they comply with CMS regulations.
Read the remainder of AHA's comments to the agencies regarding ACO antitrust regulations (pdf).
Related Articles on ACOs:
ACOs: Spend Now to Save Later?
AMA Issues Response to Proposed ACO Antitrust Policy
ACOs Inspire Doubts, Criticisms of "HMO Redux"