Agencies Challenge Threats to Suppliers And Arrangements With Hospitals

In a 3-1 decision, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) agreed to settle charges that a leading pool products distributor engaged in unfair methods of competition in violation of §5 of the FTC Act by threatening to punish manufacturers if they supplied new distributors attempting to enter local markets. The Department of Justice required a divestiture to settle charges that a long-term exclusive arrangement among Montana's leading health insurer and a group of hospitals was unlawful because the arrangement would have doomed a rival health insurer owned by the hospitals.