On April 30, ASA submitted formal comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) strongly urging the FTC to modify its current position on the application of the state action doctrine to state licensing authorities and end its related enforcement policies against those agencies. The comments provided that “The FTC has no particular expertise in regulating health care and risks inflicting serious harm on patients by adopting enforcement policies that appear intended to promote competition over quality of treatment and patient safety.” ASA’s comments further explained the importance of states being able to regulate health professionals, promoting competition that leads to high-quality patient care and protects patient safety.
The comments were submitted in response to the FTC’s March 2014 Public Workshop “Examining Health Care Competition.” The purpose of the workshop was to examine trends and activities potentially impacting competition in the growing health care industry.
While commending the FTC for its...
