Ga Doctors’ Organization Concerned SCOTUS Decision Could Give Feds Too Much Power
Donoharmdoc.com
The US Supreme Court will soon decide whether Georgia has the power to approve hospital mergers, even if consolidations create monopolies.
But an organization representing Georgia physicians is concerned the decision could create an “unintended consequence.”
The case stems from Albany, where Phoebe Putney Hospital acquired nearby Palmyra Park Hospital.
The Federal Trade Commission says that gives Phoebe Putney too much control.
But a Georgia law basically shields hospital authorities from anti-trust concerns.
The Supreme Court will decide whether the state or the federal government has the final say. But physicians are concerned the ruling could give FTC regulators blanket power to trump decisions medical boards make at the state level.
That’s why the Medical Association of Georgia this week submitted a so-called “friend of the court” brief.
“We’re concerned that the Federal Trade Commission is attempting to expand or broaden their authority over the regulatory boards,” says Association CEO Donald Palmisano Jr.
The brief cautions the Court, no matter how it rules, to preserve medical boards’ autonomies.
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