The discussion focuses on a complaint from the FTC that the Roaring Fork Valley Physicians IPA, in Garfield County, Colo., by refusing to accept Medicare price controls, violated anti-trust laws. The announcement prompted strong reaction among many physicians who argue they should be able to accept or decline payment terms, like any other profession, according to the release.
“Many parties fail to recognize that insurance companies use reductions in Medicare rates as provocation for reducing their own payment rates with physicians,” Daniel Palestrant, MD, CEO of Sermo, said in the release. “The antitrust exemption the insurance companies possess allows them to collude to reduce payments to physicians when it benefits them, yet they have no obligation to honor any increases Medicare might implement. For physicians, this means they either have to take it or leave it, where leaving it means facing anti-trust scrutiny — as in this case.”
According to the release, many physicians were between “speechless with range” and “stunned” by the FTC’s compliant, saying that the decision was unfair as insurance companies can freely negotiate charges they feel are too high, while physicians who refuse to provide services below their cost of production are accused of breaking the law.
Other physicians noted that, while they were frustrated, the FTC’s complaint was reasonable, saying the real issue at hand was how insurers have used anti-trust laws to their own advantage, according to the release.
To view the full discussion and polling results, visit the Sermo Blog at www.sermo.com/blog.
Read the Sermo release on FTC’s anti-trust complaint.
