1.
Higher costs, less choice and access are problems that might be caused by monopolistic
behaviors by healthcare providers. When healthcare markets are competitive, consumers
benefit from lower costs, better care, and more innovation (FTC, 2023).
2.
An example of a per se violation of the antitrust laws in a healthcare setting is price
fixing. An example would be several pharmaceutical companies collaborating together to
set a minimum price for insulin at $1000 per bottle. According to Showalter & Sanford
(2023), rule of reason is when a case does not fi the per se category, the legal doctrine
that requires analysis of the anticompetitive effects of actions that are alleged to restrain
trade. It is used on a case-by-case basis.
3.
I would define the geographic and product markets of large healthcare organizations such
as Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Kaiser Permanente, and John Hopkins as monopolies.
They’re major healthcare organizations that almost everyone working in healthcare has
heard of before. Among these factors are the ability of new competitors to enter the
market; the economic health of a particular industry, the types of products involved;
whether substitute products are available, the degree of consumer demand, and the
possible procompetitive effects of the combination, if any (Showalter & Sanford, 2023).
Those are the factors and barriers that may keep new competitors from entering those
markets.
