U.S. agencies launch portal for reporting anticompetitive healthcare practices

The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) launched the online portal Thursday. The portal will allow the public to report potentially unfair and anticompetitive healthcare practices, according to a joint press release.

“The launch of the new portal advances the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to lower healthcare and prescription drug costs and help create more competitive healthcare markets that are fairer to patients, providers, payers and workers,” the release said.

Complaints will undergo preliminary review by staff at the DOJ’s Antitrust Division and FTC. If a complaint raises “sufficient concern” under antitrust law or is related to HHS authorities, it will be “selected for further investigation by the appropriate agency.”

“This action may lead to the opening of a formal investigation,” the release said.

There is no financial incentive to report anticompetitive healthcare practices via the online portal.

The agencies promised to protect a reporting person’s identity “to the fullest extent possible under the law” and also committed to “supporting relevant whistleblower protections, including applicable protections for criminal antitrust complainants against unlawful retaliation,” according to the portal’s submission form. The public can report alleged violations anonymously.

The DOJ recently announced it is developing a whistleblower program that might include financial incentives, mirroring the whistleblower programs offered by the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The new online portal makes it clear prospective whistleblowers should only report anticompetitive practices in the healthcare industry.

“Please do not submit complaints about failure to pay claims or cover healthcare services, increases in individual insurers’ rates, billing disputes, or general unhappiness about the healthcare system,” the portal’s description said.