FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                    AT
MONDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1994                                     (202) 616-2771
                                                         TDD (202) 514-1888

                 JUSTICE DEPARTMENT APPROVES MERGER OF TWO
                   NEW MEXICO PULMONARY PHYSICIAN GROUPS


     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of Justice today approved
the proposed merger of two New Mexico physician groups who treat
pulmonary patients in the Albuquerque area after the Antitrust
Division concluded the merged group, which will contain about 10
physicians, would not gain market power.  More than 100
physicians offer similar services in the Albuquerque metropolitan
area.
     Pulmonary Associates Ltd. and Albuquerque Pulmonary
Consultants P.A. are specialty physician groups that treat
patients primarily in the Albuquerque area for allergies, asthma,
and lung infections; perform bronchoscopies and thoracentesis;
and place critically-ill patients on ventilators.      
     The two groups will employ eight full-time and two part-time
pulmonologists.  
     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 the two
physician groups.
     Bingaman said, "The Department concluded that the
combination of the two groups would not create an entity that has
market power--the power to raise prices and affect the
availability of certain specialized surgical services."
     Under the Department's business review procedure, a person
or organization may submit a proposed action to the Antitrust
Division and receive a statement as to whether the Division will
challenge the activity 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, Room 3233, Department of Justice,
Washington, D.C. 20530.  After a 30-day waiting period, the
documents supporting the business review request will be added to
the file.
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