Managed Care and Monopoly Power: The Antitrust Challenge

by Deborah Haas-Wilson

Overview

As millions of Americans are aware, health care costs continue to increase rapidly. Much of this increase is due to the development of new life-sustaining drugs and procedures, but part of it is due to the increased monopoly power of physicians, insurance companies, and hospitals, as the health care sector undergoes reorganization and consolidation. There are two tools to limit the growth of monopoly power: government regulation and antitrust policy. In this timely book, Deborah Haas-Wilson argues that enforcement of the antitrust laws is the tool of choice in most cases.

The antitrust laws, when wisely enforced, permit markets to work competitively and therefore efficiently. Competitive markets foster low prices and high quality. Applying antitrust tools wisely, however, is a tricky business, and Haas-Wilson carefully explains how it can be done. Focusing on the economic concepts necessary to the enforcement of the antitrust laws in health care markets, Haas-Wilson provides a useful roadmap for guiding the future of these markets.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674038110
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	07/01/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	250
File size:	404 KB

About the Author

Deborah Haas-Wilson is Professor of Economics, Smith College.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1 1 The Transformation of the Health Care System 10 2 The Current Treatment: A Strong Dose of Competition 36 3 Antitrust Policy in Health Care Markets 65 4 Market Definition in Health Care Antitrust Cases Involving Consolidation 90 5 Entry Barriers in Health Care Markets 127 6 The Effects of Horizontal Consolidation among Hospitals, Physicians, or Insurers 140 7 The Effects of Vertical Consolidation in Health Care Markets 161 Conclusion 184 Notes 193 Index of Organizations 233 Subject Index 235

What People are Saying About This

Written by a well-known and articulate economist, this book gives an enlightening account of health care antitrust law and policy. Coverage of the economic and legal literature is outstanding and up-to-date. The author makes a convincing argument for a principled, economics-based health care antitrust policy. Everyone with an interest in health policy, health economics or antitrust should read this book.

James C. Robinson

Antitrust is emerging as one of the hottest dimensions of health policy as America goes ever further down the road to market competition as our mechanism for controlling costs and motivating performance. Yet we lack any sustained treatment of the issues. This book will fill that need. It addresses an important set of issues at the confluence of health policy, economic theory, and antitrust law and policy. There is no other book like it.
— James C. Robinson, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley

H.E. Frech III

Written by a well-known and articulate economist, this book gives an enlightening account of health care antitrust law and policy. Coverage of the economic and legal literature is outstanding and up-to-date. The author makes a convincing argument for a principled, economics-based health care antitrust policy. Everyone with an interest in health policy, health economics or antitrust should read this book.
— H.E. Frech III, Department of Economics, University of California, Santa Barbara

Editorial Reviews

Antitrust is emerging as one of the hottest dimensions of health policy as America goes ever further down the road to market competition as our mechanism for controlling costs and motivating performance. Yet we lack any sustained treatment of the issues. This book will fill that need. It addresses an important set of issues at the confluence of health policy, economic theory, and antitrust law and policy. There is no other book like it.

James C. Robinson

Haas-Wilson carefully examines the appropriate role for government intervention in the rapidly evolving health care markets. Her fundamental conclusion is that competitive health care markets yield generally positive outcomes and that government policy should rely on antitrust enforcement to create and preserve such competitive markets.

Choice - E. Magenheim

Written by a well-known and articulate economist, this book gives an enlightening account of health care antitrust law and policy. Coverage of the economic and legal literature is outstanding and up-to-date. The author makes a convincing argument for a principled, economics-based health care antitrust policy. Everyone with an interest in health policy, health economics or antitrust should read this book.

H. E. Frech III

Written by a well-known and articulate economist, this book gives an enlightening account of health care antitrust law and policy. Coverage of the economic and legal literature is outstanding and up-to-date. The author makes a convincing argument for a principled, economics-based health care antitrust policy. Everyone with an interest in health policy, health economics or antitrust should read this book.

H.E. Frech III

Written by a well-known and articulate economist, this book gives an enlightening account of health care antitrust law and policy. Coverage of the economic and legal literature is outstanding and up-to-date. The author makes a convincing argument for a principled, economics-based health care antitrust policy. Everyone with an interest in health policy, health economics or antitrust should read this book.

H.E. Frech Iii

[Hass-Wilson] demonstrates an immense depth of scholarship in the law and economics...[T]his is an excellent book... Economists and laymen who care about health policy or health antitrust should read this book.
— H. E. Frech III

Journal of Economic Literature

Haas-Wilson carefully examines the appropriate role for government intervention in the rapidly evolving health care markets. Her fundamental conclusion is that competitive health care markets yield generally positive outcomes and that government policy should rely on antitrust enforcement to create and preserve such competitive markets.
— E. Magenheim

Choice