In re Michigan State Medical Society
Federal Trade Commission
101 F.T.C. 191 (1983)
The Michigan State Medical Society (MSMS), an organization of competing physicians, grew frustrated with reimbursement policies set by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM). MSMS's collective bargaining division organized a coordinated letter-writing campaign, urging members to threaten withdrawal from all BCBSM programs unless the policies changed; the letters were routed through MSMS itself so it could use them as leverage in negotiations. BCBSM ultimately backed off its policies. An administrative law judge found MSMS's conduct an unlawful restraint of trade under § 1 of the Sherman Act, and MSMS appealed to the full Commission.
Whether, if members of a medical group, society, or other organization undertake concerted activities with a common purpose to influence third-party reimbursement policies, those actions constitute a restraint of trade in violation of § 1 of the Sherman Act.