Health Affairs, 22, no. 2 (2003): 31-44 doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.22.2.31 © 2003 by Project HOPE	New Online   House Health Reform Bill   Paying for Reform   Vetting AHIP's Report   HIV/AIDS Costs   Brief: Insurance Reform   HA Blog Top 10

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Incentives

Why Competition Law Matters To Health Care Quality

Competition law (encompassing both antitrust and consumer protection) is the forgotten stepchild of health care quality. This paper introduces readers to competition law and policy, describes its institutional features and analytic framework, surveys the ways in which competition law has influenced quality-based competition, and outlines some areas in need of further development. Competition law protects the competitive process—not individual competitors. It guides the structural features of the health care system and the conduct of providers as they navigate it. Competition law does not privilege quality over other competitive goals but honors consumers’ preferences with respect to trade-offs among quality, price, and other attributes of goods and services.

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				R. E. Herzlinger and R. Parsa-Parsi Consumer-Driven Health Care: Lessons From Switzerland JAMA, September 8, 2004; 292(10): 1213 - 1220. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]