{"id":2193723,"date":"2024-03-06T03:29:02","date_gmt":"2024-03-06T08:29:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-doj-tacitly-admits-obamacare-wrecked-crucial-health-care-competition\/"},"modified":"2024-03-06T03:43:12","modified_gmt":"2024-03-06T08:43:12","slug":"biden-doj-tacitly-admits-obamacare-wrecked-crucial-health-care-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-doj-tacitly-admits-obamacare-wrecked-crucial-health-care-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden&#8217;s DOJ implies Obamacare harmed vital healthcare competition"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbiden-doj-tacitly-admits-obamacare-wrecked-crucial-health-care-competition%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2193723&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Antitrust Investigation Against UnitedHealth<\/h2>\n<p>A \u200crecent Wall Street Journal\u2063 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/health\/healthcare\/u-s-launches-antitrust-investigation-of-healthcare-giant-unitedhealth-ff5a00d2?mod=hp_lead_pos1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">story<\/a> has \u200dshed light on a new antitrust investigation targeting the\u2064 largest health insurer in the \u2063United States. \u200dThis investigation is just another example of the ongoing battle against the negative consequences of Obamacare,\u200d a law that has led to consolidation \u200cwithin the health \u2064sector.<\/p>\n<p>Back \u200din 2008, then-candidate Obama <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2008\/07\/23\/us\/23health.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">promised<\/a> that his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/workers-health-care-restored-after-union-bosses-back-down\/\" title=\"Workers\u2019 Health Care Restored After Union Bosses Back Down\">health care plan<\/a> would reduce premiums by an\u200c average \u2063of $2,500 per family. However, the continuous rise in \u200cpremiums demonstrates the \u200bfailure \u200dof Obamacare according to Obama&#8217;s own standards. The law\u200b has also fostered <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-steven-crowder-announces-lawsuit-against-facebook\/\" title=\"BREAKING: Steven Crowder Announces Lawsuit Against Facebook\">anti-competitive behavior<\/a>, which further explains the current situation.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-330050786\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-7941b86264eac9b8cef1234e0dedad55 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-7941b86264eac9b8cef1234e0dedad55\"><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Insurer&#8217;s Acquisition of Physician Groups<\/h2>\n<p>The Justice Department&#8217;s antitrust division is currently investigating the relationship between UnitedHealthcare&#8217;s insurance business and \u200cits subsidiary, Optum, which \u200downs multiple physician practices. The investigation focuses on whether UnitedHealthcare has favored\u200b Optum-owned \u2064groups in its contracting practices, \u200dpotentially excluding rival physicians \u200dfrom attractive payment arrangements. It also explores the impact of\u200d Optum&#8217;s ownership\u2064 of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/colorado-offers-free-community-college-in-hope-to-ease-workforce-shortage-in-high-demand-jobs\/\" title=\"Colorado provides free community college to address workforce shortage in high-demand jobs.\">health\u200c care providers<\/a> on rival health insurers and compliance\u2063 with federal rules regarding premium collection.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>The new Justice Department inquiry &#8230; is \u200bpartly examining Optum&#8217;s acquisitions of doctor groups\u2064 and how \u2064the ownership of physician and health plan units affects competition.\u200b &#8230; Investigators have asked whether UnitedHealthcare favored Optum-owned groups in its contracting practices, potentially squeezing rival physicians \u200dout of certain types of attractive payment arrangements.<\/p>\n<p>Investigators have \u2063also explored whether Optum&#8217;s ownership of health care providers could present challenges to health insurers that are rivals to UnitedHealthcare. &#8230; And \u200cinvestigators have asked \u200cwhether and\u2064 how the \u2063tie-up\u2062 between UnitedHealthcare \u200cand Optum\u2063 medical groups \u200cmight affect\u2063 its compliance \u2064with federal\u200b rules that cap how much a health insurance company retains from the premiums it collects from\u2062 insurers.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Last\u2064 year,\u2064 Senator Elizabeth \u2063Warren \u2064and Senator Mike Braun requested an investigation\u200d into the evasion\u2064 of medical\u2062 loss ratio requirements by insurers through vertical integration. The Justice Department is \u2063now \u200baddressing this issue as well.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Familiar Pattern<\/h2>\n<p>All of \u200dthese issues are interconnected. Warren and Braun&#8217;s letter last year \u2062highlighted the impact of UnitedHealth&#8217;s insurance\u2064 business and Optum&#8217;s physician practices. They \u2063also discussed the integration between pharmacies and \u200c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/what-you-need-to-know-about-trumps-latest-drug-pricing-moves\/\" title=\"What You Need To Know About Trump\u2019s Latest Drug Pricing Moves\">pharmaceutical benefit managers<\/a> (PBMs) who handle drug\u200c claims \u200dfor insurance companies.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, hospitals have \u200cbeen engaging in mergers and acquisitions over the past decade, just\u200d like UnitedHealth&#8217;s acquisition of physician \u200bpractices. A\u200b previous Wall Street\u200c Journal \u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/behind-your-rising-health-care-bills-secret-hospital-deals-that-squelch-competition-1537281963\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">story<\/a> from 2018 revealed how hospital mergers surged after \u2064the enactment of Obamacare in 2010.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-492d6bbd348ac1319db089ad3cc224e5 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-492d6bbd348ac1319db089ad3cc224e5\"><\/div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><\/figure>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/behind-your-rising-health-care-bills-secret-hospital-deals-that-squelch-competition-1537281963\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Wall Street Journal<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>These mergers have resulted in anti-competitive provisions that hinder transparency for employers and consumers. Even Walmart, known for its ability to \u200cnegotiate lower\u2063 prices, struggled \u2064to obtain a list of underperforming\u2063 providers in its network due to these provisions.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Impact of Obamacare<\/h2>\n<p>Obamacare has transformed much of\u2063 the health\u200c care industry into \u200dregulated utilities, leading \u2062to mergers and acquisitions\u200b as\u2062 companies\u2062 seek to gain leverage through \u2064size. With profit percentages \u2063capped by regulations, these companies can only increase profits by expanding their \u2064revenue base.<\/p>\n<p>Democrats \u200care well\u200d aware of these issues. Warren&#8217;s letter acknowledged that\u2063 companies like UnitedHealth were exploiting loopholes in \u200dthe\u200b law, conveniently ignoring the fact that Democrats themselves created both the law and the loopholes.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-d3ae4b404c9817ade39eedc722ee24c8 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-d3ae4b404c9817ade39eedc722ee24c8\"><\/div>\n<p>Warren unintentionally revealed the truth by referencing a blog post \u200btitled &#8220;How Obamacare Created Big Medicine.&#8221; This perfectly\u200b summarizes why, as \u2062President Trump stated,\u2064 &#8220;Obamacare sucks.&#8221; The ongoing investigation by the\u2063 Justice Department into UnitedHealth is\u2062 an implicit admission of this fact, \u2064even under the Biden administration.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-8f6f5d370de56c21368ea4058a216fb9 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-8f6f5d370de56c21368ea4058a216fb9\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> How\u200d are investigations\u200c into UnitedHealth&#8217;s relationship with Optum and the evasion of medical loss ratio requirements addressing\u200d the \u200dissues of consolidation, anti-competitive behavior, and compliance\u200d with federal rules within the healthcare industry<\/h2>\n<p><span>  The recent antitrust investigation targeting UnitedHealth, the largest health\u200c insurer in the United States, has brought attention to the ongoing battle against the \u2063negative consequences of Obamacare.\u2063 This investigation is just another example of how consolidation within the health \u200bsector has been fostered \u2062by the law.<\/p>\n<p>Back in 2008, \u2063then-candidate\u2062 Obama\u2063 promised that his health \u200bcare plan would reduce premiums by an average of\u200b $2,500\u2062 per family. However, the continuous rise in \u2064premiums demonstrates the failure of Obamacare according \u2064to Obama&#8217;s\u2064 own\u200b standards.\u200b Furthermore, the\u2064 law has\u200c also led to anti-competitive behavior within the industry, which further exacerbates the current situation.<\/p>\n<p>The Justice Department&#8217;s antitrust division is currently investigating the relationship between \u200dUnitedHealthcare&#8217;s \u2062insurance business and its subsidiary, Optum, which \u200cowns multiple physician practices. The investigation focuses on\u200c whether UnitedHealthcare has favored Optum-owned groups \u2064in its contracting practices,\u200c potentially\u200c excluding rival physicians from attractive\u200d payment arrangements. It also \u2063explores the impact of Optum&#8217;s\u200b ownership of healthcare providers \u200bon rival \u200bhealth insurers and \u200dcompliance with federal rules regarding premium\u200c collection.<\/p>\n<p>The investigation\u200d is partly examining Optum&#8217;s acquisitions of doctor groups and how\u200b the ownership of physician and health plan units affects \u2063competition. \u200bInvestigators have\u200b raised concerns about\u2062 UnitedHealthcare favoring Optum-owned groups\u2062 in its contracting practices, potentially squeezing out rival physicians from certain types of attractive payment arrangements. \u2064They \u200dhave also explored whether Optum&#8217;s \u2064ownership of\u2062 healthcare providers presents challenges to health insurers that\u200c are rivals to UnitedHealthcare. Investigators are \u200calso examining how the tie-up between UnitedHealthcare \u2062and Optum medical groups might impact its compliance with \u2064federal rules.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, Senator Elizabeth Warren \u2062and \u200bSenator Mike Braun\u200c requested an investigation into the evasion of\u2064 medical loss ratio requirements by insurers\u200b through vertical integration. The Justice Department\u2063 is now addressing this issue as well.<\/p>\n<p>All of these issues are\u200d interconnected. Warren and Braun&#8217;s \u200bletter last year highlighted the\u2063 impact of UnitedHealth&#8217;s insurance business and Optum&#8217;s physician practices. They also discussed the integration between\u200d pharmacies \u2063and \u200cpharmaceutical\u2064 benefit \u200cmanagers (PBMs) who handle\u200c drug claims for insurance companies.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, hospitals have been\u2063 engaging in mergers and acquisitions over the past decade, similar to \u2064UnitedHealth&#8217;s acquisition of physician practices. A previous Wall Street Journal\u200c story from\u200c 2018 revealed \u200bhow hospital mergers \u200dsurged after \u2063the\u200c enactment of Obamacare in 2010.<\/p>\n<p>These investigations and discussions shed\u200d light\u2064 on the ongoing challenges within the healthcare industry.\u200d As the battle against the negative consequences of Obamacare continues, \u200cit is crucial to address the issues of consolidation, anti-competitive behavior, and compliance with federal rules. Only through a comprehensive understanding and resolve can\u200b a more efficient\u200b and fair healthcare system be\u2063 achieved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new antitrust investigation against the largest health insurer in the US, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, follows a familiar pattern. The Justice Department and federal officials are once again attempting to counter the negative consequences of Obamacare, a law that has empowered industry leaders<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":2193724,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Screenshot-2024-03-05-at-8.14.16%E2%80%AFPM-1024x679.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2193723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Screenshot-2024-03-05-at-8.14.16%E2%80%AFPM-1024x679.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2193723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/521"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2193723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2193723\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2193724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2193723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2193723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2193723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}