Can HMOs wield market power? Assessing antitrust liability in the imperfect market for health care financing.

TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction .. .................................... 93 I. Background . ................................ 102 A. Statutory Basis for Antitrust Offenses ........... 102 B. Judicial Construction of Antitrust Laws ......... 103 1. Monopolization and attempted monopolization: section 2 offenses ........................ 103 2. Combinations or contracts in restraint of trade: section I offenses ........................ 105 C. Recent Application of Antitrust Law to HMOs ..... 106 II. Lowering the Legal Threshold for Antitrust Liability .. 108 A. Lowering the Threshold for Market Power ....... 108 1. Eastman Kodak Co. v. Image Technical Services, Inc. .................................. 108 2. Jefferson Parish Hospital District No. 2 v. Hyde .... 112 B. Potential Divergence of HMO and Health Care Financing Markets .......................... 115 III. Lower Court Assessment of HMO Antitrust Liability ... 118