Detroit Free Press reporters David Ashenfelter and Todd Spangler report that the Justice Department has filed an antitrust suit against state insurance titan Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, charging that it’s been including clauses in its contracts with hospitals that give the insurer significant anticompetitive leverage.
The provisions being challenged are known as “most-favored nation” clauses or MFN. In the health care realm, they generally refer to contractual clauses between health insurance plans and health care providers that – according to the Justice Department – “essentially guarantee that no other plan can obtain a better rate than the plan wielding the MFN.”
For background on MFN clauses in health care, I recommend a 2007 American Medical News column by Steven Harris. Apparently, the DoJ has had such practices in its sights since 2004.
