FTC/DOJ Joint Hearings on Health Care Competition Law and Policy To Be Held June 25 and 26

The Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice (DOJ) will hold the next session of their joint hearings on health care and competition law and policy on June 25-26, 2003. These hearings, originally scheduled to be held at the FTC Conference Center, will now be held at FTC Headquarters at 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC.

The afternoon session on Wednesday, June 25 will address the costs and benefits of state-mandated health care services and why states choose to mandate certain benefits. The morning session on Thursday, June 26 will examine pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) - how they operate, the potential barriers to entry into existing PBMs, and the antitrust and consumer protection issues they raise. Thursday's afternoon session will explore FTC and DOJ prospective guidance - recent examples, how it is used and how it can be improved, and how it compares to prospective guidance provided from other federal agencies.

Information about the health care hearings is available on the Web sites for the hearings, http://www.ftc.gov/ogc/healthcarehearings/ or http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/hchearing.htm and from the FTC's Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580.

Reporters unable to attend the event may call in as follows:

Wednesday, June 25, 2003 - 2:00-5:00 p.m.

Dial-in Number: 1-800-659-1145
Confirmation Number: 17456586
Chairperson: Bruce Jennings

Thursday, June 26, 2003 - 9:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m.

Dial-in Number: 1-800-923-4206
Confirmation Number: 17456590
Chairperson: Bruce Jennings