FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          AT
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1995                         (202) 616-2771
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888


    JUSTICE DEPARTMENT APPROVES PROPOSAL TO ESTABLISH NATIONAL
     NETWORK OF ORTHOTIC AND PROSTHETIC CLINICAL FACILITIES 

     WASHINGTON, D. C. -- A Bethesda, Maryland, manufacturer and
distributor of orthotic and prosthetic devices will be permitted
to establish a national network of clinical facilities and to
negotiate collectively with third-party payors on behalf of its
members under a proposal approved today by the Department of
Justice.  
     The Department's Antitrust Division approved a proposal
under which Hanger Orthopedic Group Inc. will form a national
network of member orthotic and prosthetic clinics.  The network
will include members that are owned by and under contract with
Hanger.
     The Department's position was stated in a business review
letter from Anne K. Bingaman, Assistant Attorney General in
charge of the Antitrust Division, to counsel for Hanger.
     In addition to manufacturing and distributing orthotic and
prosthetic devices and their components, Hanger currently owns
and operates more than 80 orthotic and prosthetic clinics
throughout the country.  In order to market these services to
national health plans and insurers, Hanger plans to establish a
national network of owned and contracted orthotic and prosthetic
clinics.
     The Department said that the Hanger network is unlikely to
be anticompetitive because it will not include any competitors in
any relevant geographic market.  
     Bingaman said, "The operation of the network could produce
procompetitive benefits.  Once established, the network will
compete in various relevant geographic markets with other
orthotic and prosthetic networks.  The result could be better
quality and better prices of orthotic and prosthetic services in
those markets in which the networks compete."
     Under the Department's business review procedure, an
organization may submit a proposed action to the Antitrust
Division and receive a statement of whether the Division will
challenge the action under the antitrust laws.
     A file containing the business review request and the
Department's response may be examined in the Legal Procedure Unit
of the Antitrust Division, Suite 215, Liberty Place, 325 7th
Street, N.W., Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. 20004. 
After a 30-day waiting period, the documents supporting the
business review will be added to the file.
                               ###
95-487