Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Edith Ramirez opened a healthcare competition workshop yesterday by saying healthcare is a "top priority" for the agency, according to an AHA News report.
Ms. Ramirez also said healthcare is a significant part of the FTC's "competition policy agenda," according to the report. The two-day workshop, titled "Examining Health Care Competition," is exploring issues including price transparency, the professional regulation of healthcare providers, care delivery innovations, healthcare technology advancements and measurements and assessments of healthcare quality.
During the workshop's first day, Gail Finley, vice president of rural health and hospitals for the Colorado Hospital Association, discussed access issues for patients in rural Colorado during a panel on professional regulation. Additionally, Lee Sacks, MD, executive vice president and chief medical officer for Downers Grove, Ill.-based Advocate Health Care, discussed Tele-ICU during another panel focused on healthcare innovation, according to the report.
Today, workshop sessions will center on quality assessment and price transparency. Last week, in advance of the workshop, the American Hospital Association submitted a letter to the FTC expressing support for price transparency efforts: "The AHA and its members stand ready to work with policymakers on innovative ways to build on efforts already occurring at the state level and share information that helps consumers make better choices about their healthcare."
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