U.S. Department
of Justice
Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services Announce Partnership to Protect Health Care Markets
“Americans depend on competitive health care markets to meet their most basic needs. Today’s MOU memorializes our shared commitment to protect patients from antitrust crime and other anticompetitive conduct, while ensuring uninterrupted access to health care products and services for patients who need them.” -Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division
“We look forward to collaborating with the Antitrust Division to ensure that exclusions are imposed where appropriate and the people served by federal health care programs maintain access to health care products and services. Through this partnership, we will tackle unlawful behavior across the health care industry.” -Inspector General Christi A. Grimm of the Department of Health and Human Services
Through coordination in information sharing, enforcement activity, and training, the two agencies will strengthen the enforcement of federal laws, including the full force of OIG’s exclusion authorities and the antitrust laws enforced by the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, while ensuring the continuity of health care products and services. In particular, this MOU will allow the two agencies to make referrals of potentially illegal activity to each other, as appropriate, and to coordinate on policy, strategy, and training.
“Americans depend on competitive health care markets to meet their most basic needs. Today’s MOU memorializes our shared commitment to protect patients from antitrust crime and other anticompetitive conduct, while ensuring uninterrupted access to health care products and services for patients who need them.” -Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division
On December 9, 2022 The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU). Strengthening the partnership between the two agencies will enable both to better protect health care consumers and workers from collusion, ensure compliance with laws enforced by OIG and the Antitrust Division, and promote competitive health care markets. This partnership also supports the objectives of the President’s Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy.