Is DOJ’s Focus on Healthcare Monopolies Coming to Virginia?
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9 responses to “Is DOJ’s Focus on Healthcare Monopolies Coming to Virginia?”
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The canary case will be Luxottica, if. Sentara has naught to worry until then.
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They seem to be having some ongoing trouble in Europe, but didn’t they receive anti-trust clearance from the U.S. in 2018 for their merger with/acquisitions of Essilor?
Or are they up to something new?
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You may prove right, but I don’t think so.
The White House characterized the focus of the E.O. as follows:
“Announces a policy that enforcement should focus in particular on labor markets, agricultural markets, healthcare markets (which includes prescription drugs, hospital consolidation, and insurance), and the tech sector.”
As for the company itself, even after merging with Essilor, the combined EssilorLuxottica still has larger competitors, led by Walmart (WMT) and Costco (COST) vision centers. Most of the brands each sells are from EssilorLuxottica competitors.
Luxxotica has Target’s eye centers among the big three retailers.
Direct-to-consumer only online competitors include EyeBuyDirect, Zenni Optical, Liingo Eyewear, GlassesUSA and Warby Parker.
Warby Parker is the leader in that market. It is also noticeably philanthropic.
Hard to categorize EssilorLuxottica in the eyewear business as a bigger deal for DOJ than regional monopolization in the healthcare and health insurance industries.
Pretty sure the White House doesn’t want to see headlines about DOJ suing because Oakley or Michael Kors glasses cost too much.
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Jim, speaking of Aubrey Layne’s leap from Sec. Finance to Sentara, did you pick up on the fact that VCU’s CFO, Melinda Hancock, has joined Sentara as chief administrative officer?
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Sentara wanted a hospital in Danville but had to settle for a clinic in Chatham Gretna. Would have been a god send to Danville.
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Sentara would never get a COPN to build a new hospital in Danville.
It’s only alternative would be to acquire SOVAH Health’s Danville and Martinsville hospitals.
Sovah Health – Danville is a 250-bed hospital. It is the second largest employer in the City of Danville.
SOVAH is profitable, in considerable part because SOVAH Danville serves as the regional medical center for the SOVAH hospital in Martinsville. The high profit cases from Martinsville are referred to Danville.
So a buyer would have to purchase both. The value of the two together is worth far more than each individually.
Hard to see SOVAH selling at a price that Sentara would be willing to pay for hospitals in a very poor region of the state with a declining population.
Then there is the antitrust issue. Since the purchase would not constitute a COPN award, the feds could be counted on to intervene to stop it.
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I did not. Thanks.
I note that a picture of Megan Perry, Sentara’s Corporate Vice President for Mergers and Affiliations, still appears on their website.
But, then, Aubrey Lane’s picture is not up yet.
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[…] Sherlock’s July 23 column highlights the recent speech by Assistant Attorney General Richard Powers, acting head of Justice’s Antitrust Division. […]
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[…] As writer James Sherlock noted in a column in Bacon’s Rebellion, “The clouds have darkened over Virginia’s healthcare monopolies.” […]
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