Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

Antitrust Scrutiny of Lyme Guidelines

By Marcia Coyle
April 27, 2007

A state attorney general's novel investigation into the development of treatment guidelines for Lyme disease should put health care and professional medical societies on alert to a possible new front in antitrust litigation, say antitrust lawyers and others. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal late last year issued a subpoena to the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) for information on how it established its latest guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease ' guidelines that were subsequently adopted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While IDSA has responded to the subpoena, Blumenthal said his investigation is ongoing. 'We've reached no conclusion,' he said.

And although some have characterized it as novel or unprecedented, Blumenthal said the inquiry involves 'basic antitrust principles applied to medical care.' The antitrust implications here, he explained, are the restraint on doctor and patient choices for treatment of the disease because of the guidelines, and particularly their effect on insurance companies' willingness to pay for treatment.

This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473

Read These Next
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It Image

Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?

Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough Image

There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.

The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later Image

The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.

A Lawyer's System for Active Reading Image

Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.

Protecting Innovation in the Cyber World from Patent Trolls Image

With trillions of dollars to keep watch over, the last thing we need is the distraction of costly litigation brought on by patent assertion entities (PAEs or "patent trolls"), companies that don't make any products but instead seek royalties by asserting their patents against those who do make products.