Antitrust for Therapists

Curt and Katie talk about antitrust laws – how they impact therapists, how to avoid concerns, and what to pay attention to when you’re a therapist.    It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age. In this episode we talk about: Sherman Antitrust Law Why antitrust laws are important Looking at insurance companies and the discrepancy that therapists are more held to antitrust than insurance companies for complicated reasons Therapy practices are businesses and in competition with each other Price Fixing and Market Share agreements The problem and risk with group boycotts The difference between colluding and discussing publicly available information How competition discussing fees in small Facebook groups can lead to price fixing The Cardigan Cartel How to communicate fees and discuss insurance issues without getting into antitrust issues Individuals on insurance panels are still competitors How Antitrust can be anti-consumer What the risks are for discussing pros and cons of different insurance panels How to avoid anti-trust problems Why you should talk to an attorney if you’re concerned How interstate commerce relates to antitrust and how Insurance Plans can play a game to get out of all of this The differences between employees who can strike and separate businesses banding together How Single-Payer relates to this topic How associations play into this and why they can survey their members on fees and other aspects of their businesses The difference between being responsible as a business owner and following the trends Sharing information, without making decisions and planning together How often therapists or other healthcare providers get in trouble for antitrust concerns, as well as related licenses Publicly available information is safe to discuss Share information, but don’t put a call to action to do something with your colleagues