The Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department are seeking the public's help as they scrutinize anticompetitive behavior as part of a larger effort to review and refine merger guidelines.
They are looking for public input about how to move forward with investigations into potentially anticompetitive mergers and acquisitions.
"The agencies seek information on whether concentration thresholds should be adjusted to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of enforcement, whether alternative metrics or qualitative factors should also trigger presumptions of competitive harm, and evidence regarding the accuracy of such presumptions," the agencies stated in a Jan. 18 news release.
The agencies are also asking for feedback on updates to the market definition analysis to better account for non-price competition and discussion around potential and nascent competitors.
The comment period is open for 60 days, and comments must be received no later than March 21. Comments may be submitted to regulations.gov.
Several physician groups and ASCs have sued health systems in the last year over alleged anticompetitive behavior, including Marion, Ill.-based MarionHealthCare. The multispecialty ASC filed suit in July to halt Southern Illinois Hospital Service's planned acquisition of Harrisburg (Ill.) Medical Center, claiming it would create an unfair monopoly over ambulatory surgery services.
Read more about the review efforts here.