FTC aims to foster creation of ACOs

The Federal Trade Commission will explore the creation of new antitrust safe harbors and an expedited review process to foster the establishment of accountable care organizations, FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said during a workshop at CMS headquarters in Baltimore.

“It is not easy to craft safe harbors that can replace an antitrust review that analyzes the specific facts of each case and market, but we're going to try to do this, and to do it effectively and properly, we need your input,” Leibowitz said during his opening remarks of a daylong event convened by the CMS, FTC and HHS' inspector general's office, intended to guide the regulators toward providing clarity in a marketplace as it changes under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

“We need your real-world experience and experience to help us understand what kind of ACOs you're considering, and how you see them operating in the healthcare marketplace,” Leibowitz said.

The workshop is scheduled to include panels on potential conflicts between the integration that's key to ACOs and the government's frameworks for policing competition and the fraud and abuse laws.

HHS Inspector General Daniel Levinson said his staff is working with the CMS to determine how best to exercise authority under the healthcare reform law to waive the restrictions on physician self-referral, or Stark law, and the anti-kickback statute so the government doesn't stand in the way of innovations that improve quality and reduce costs.