Case Details

Year Initiated/Committed

1997

Year Resolved

1997

Settlement Amount

$300,000

Court

U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico

Docket Number

971-0011

Lead State

PR

Participating States

PR

Defendant(s)

College of Physicians-Surgeons of Puerto Rico; Centralmed Inc.; Fajardo Group Practice, Inc.; Norte Med, Inc.

Case Description

FTC and Commonweatlh of Puerto Rico alleged that the College of Physician-Surgeons of Puerto Rico (“College”) and three physician groups collectively demanded price-related changes under Puerto Rico’s government managed care plan for the indigent. The complaint charged the defendants with violating the antitrust laws by attempting to coerce the Puerto Rican government to recognize the College as the exclusive bargaining agent for all physicians of Puerto Rico, and by calling a strike of all physicians in Puerto Rico for all non-emergency patient care. The boycott forced many people to go to local hospital emergency rooms to receive care that they ordinarily would have received in a physician’s office, while other consumers were forced to forego medical care during the boycott. Under the settlement, the College and three large physician groups that actively supported the boycott would be prohibited from jointly participating in boycotts or refusing to provide medical services, and from jointly negotiating prices or other more favorable economic terms for doctors. The agreement also calls for the college to pay $300,000 to the catastrophic fund administered by the Puerto Rico Department of Health. All 8,000 doctors in Puerto Rico are members of the college.