Rochester settles with GPO
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
Hospital group purchasing organization Premier will pay catheter manufacturer Rochester Medical $8.8 mil. in an antitrust settlement, firm announces Nov. 20. A 2004 suit by Rochester claimed that Premier received kickbacks from certain manufacturers, leading it to dismiss smaller competitors. Litigation continues against CR Bard and Tyco, and GPO's Novation and VHA. Rochester alleges that defendants conspired to create a monopoly power among healthcare providers, interfering with Rochester's contracts and disparaging its products, which include the Release-NF Foley catheter. The Medical Device Manufacturers Association has been pushing to remove GPO protections from federal anti-kickback laws (1"The Gray Sheet" June 26, 2006, p. 8)...