PROVIDENCE – Under legislation that took effect in late January, Rhode Island medical practice groups must now provide the R.I. Attorney General’s Office with advance notice of planned mergers, consolidations and acquisitions.
Previously, health practice groups did not have to provide notice of non-hospital transactions, Attorney General Peter F. Neronha’s office said in an explanatory statement.
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The office issued the rule in response to rising health care costs and an increase in market concentrations that don’t benefit patient care, according to the statement.
“Without advance notice, it is near-impossible for the RIAG to investigate potentially anti-competitive transactions because such plans are generally closely held confidential commercial information,” the statement said. “This rule ensures that the RIAG receives timely notice of transactions that could materially affect market conditions, thereby enabling effective antitrust oversight.”
The previous lack of notice requirement left the state vulnerable to “anticompetitive consolidation (proceeding) unchecked,” the statement continued.
The law does not require detailed data submissions due to the financial and administrative burdens it would place on health care practices and the attorney general’s office, the statement noted, as well as potential delays these measures could cause to “beneficial transactions.”
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.
