Managed Care and Monopoly Power : The Antitrust Challenge

Applying antitrust law to health care is a bit like reading poetry in translation. The words are all there, but the patterns and structure do not quite come across. Antitrust law envisions a world of buyers and sellers who trade goods or services for money in a market that should be as fair and competitive as possible. In the market for health care services, it is often not clear who the buyer is, who the seller is, what is being sold, or who is competing with whom. The terms make sense in the abstract, but the patterns and structure can be difficult to discern. Ultimately, something is apt to be lost in translation