The FTC argues that North Carolina Senate Bill 743 would authorize acquisitions, market allocation, information sharing, and joint contract negotiations that can reduce competition among providers and lead to higher costs, lower quality, reduced innovation and access to care, as well as depressed wages for hospital workers.
The legislation was unanimously passed by the North Carolina State Senate on May 1 and is pending before the North Carolina House. It includes a provision that supposedly would give UNC Health — and other entities it collaborates with — “a defense from antitrust enforcement for otherwise unlawful mergers or coordinated activity under the state action legal doctrine,” according to the FTC.
The agency has raised concerns about similar legislation in other states that would potentially confer broad antitrust defenses to public health entities.
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