American Board of Internal Medicine attempts to dismiss physician suit — 5 insights

The American Board of Internal Medicine filed a motion March 19 to dismiss a class action suit brought by four internists alleging the organization was performing monopolistic actions.

What you should know:

1. The internist filed their lawsuit in December 2018. They alleged ABIM had a monopoly on the maintenance of certification market, forcing physicians to purchase their maintenance of certification exams at inflated prices, while refusing to accept competing MOC exams.

2. ABIM affirmed the value of its MOC exam, and "[dismantled the] plaintiffs' assertions of violations of antitrust laws and fraudulent activity under RICO."

3. ABIM certification is not required to practice medicine anywhere in the U.S., however patients, hospitals and payers all hold the certification in high-standing.

4. ABIM President and CEO Richard Baron, MD, said in a release, "Plaintiffs may disagree with ABIM and members of the medical community on whether ABIM certification provides them value, but their claims have no basis in the law."

5. The four internists represent more than 100,000 internal medicine physicians across the U.S.

Note: A lawyer representing the plaintiffs declined to comment.

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