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US: Feds weigh impact of SCOTUS hospital ruling

By  |  May 12, 2013

A recent decision by the US Supreme Court may lead to increased legal action within the healthcare sector, says one expert. Federal Trade Commission deputy assistant director Sara Razi suggested that the Court’s decision, made last February, strengthened federal antitrust lawyers when clarifying when state antitrust law can trump federal; the Court unanimously agreed that “state-action immunity is disfavored” in FTC vs. Phoebe Putney Health System. The FTC sued the health group over a merger, approved by Georgia’s state hospital regulators. According to Razi, the ruling was “manna from heaven” and suggested that the Court’s ruling demonstrated unity between liberals and conservatives when it comes to federal antitrust exemptions. According to Razi, this may lead to more legal action taken within the healthcare sector as federals find the support of Supreme Court precedence.

Full Content: Thomson Reuters

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