Announced Action for September 20, 2005

Commission approval of petition to reopen and modify order: The Commission has approved a petition to reopen and modify a final order in the matter concerning White Sands Health Care System, L.L.C., Alamogordo Physician Cooperative, Inc., Dacite, Inc., and James R. Laurenza. The matter concerns alleged collective fee negotiation and price-fixing by a physicians’ group in New Mexico. In the petition, submitted earlier this year, James R. Laurenza, president of Dacite, requested that the Commission eliminate Paragraph VII from the final order, as the business relationship between Laurenza and his company and White Sands was terminated, effective March 31, 2005. Dacite and Laurenza therefore no longer have access to information necessary to comply with the requirements of Paragraph VII. Through this action, the FTC has approved Laurenza’s petition.

The Commission vote to reopen and modify the order was 4-0. (FTC Docket No.
C-4130; the staff contact is Daniel P. Ducore, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-2526; see press releases dated September 28, 2004 and June 3, 2005.)

Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTC’s Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. Call toll-free: 1-877-FTC-HELP.