by Andrea Agathokolis Murino, James D. Gatta, a
In the first case of its kind, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that it had entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute LLC (FCS). Specifically, FCS admitted that it violated the federal antitrust laws by participating in a criminal antitrust conspiracy to allocate medical oncology and radiation oncology treatments provided to cancer patients in Southwest Florida for almost two decades. Pursuant to the DPA, FCS agreed to pay the statutory maximum criminal penalty of $100 million, and to cooperate with the DOJ in an ongoing investigation into market allocation in the oncology industry, as well as other conditions. In addition, the Florida Attorney General announced a parallel civil settlement with FCS, requiring FCS to pay more than $20 million in disgorgement for the company’s violations of state antitrust and unfair trade practices laws in connection with the scheme. The announcement of a federal criminal action and the imposition of more than $120 million in fines and disgorgement is a bold and significant statement from federal and state authorities that healthcare providers across the country will be severely punished for engaging in anticompetitive agreements.
Continue reading