WASHINGTON, D.C., April 30, 2012 — With the ever-increasing focus on healthcare and the uncertainty concerning healthcare reform, the upcoming 2012 Antitrust in Healthcare Conference promises to be one of the most important in its 25-year history.  Sponsored by the American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law, the ABA Health Law Section and the American Health Lawyers Association, the conference takes place May 3-4 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Pentagon City in Arlington, Va.

The jointly sponsored conference brings together an expert faculty made up of leading government enforcers, private counsel, and economic experts who will share their insights on key antitrust issues facing the industry, discuss current enforcement priorities and share their experience on recently litigated matters.

Jon Leibowitz, chairman, Federal Trade Commission, will provide the keynote address on Thursday, May 3, from 10 – 10:45 a.m.; and Joseph Wayland, incoming assistant attorney general, Antitrust Division, Department of Justice, will provide the luncheon speech, Thursday, May 3, from noon – 1:30 p.m.  Markus Meier, deputy assistant director, Health Care Services and Products Division, FTC Bureau of Competition; and Joshua Soven, chief, Litigation Section 1, Department of Justice Antitrust Division, will be on the View from Federal Enforcers panel.  Additional representatives from the FTC, DoJ, and state antitrust enforcement agencies will serve as speakers.

Highlights of the conference include:

• Antitrust Primer;
• Year in Review: Healthcare Antitrust in Transition;
• How Broad are These Antitrust Exemptions?
• Hot Topics in State Enforcement;
• Industry Perspectives;
• ACOs and Other Collaborations;
• Merger Review Under the New Horizontal Merger Guidelines;
• Conspiracies Among Competitors:  For Better or Worse? and
• Pharma: Hot Topics in Antitrust.

The agenda for the conference can be found online.

For media credentialing, please contact Patricia Gaul at patricia.gaul@americanbar.org or 202-662-1094.  This event is free and open to members of the press.

With nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world.  As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.

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