As Congress searches for ways to cut health-care costs, the supplier networks or group purchasing organizations through which products are bought from "preferred manufacturers" find themselves in the spotlight again.
Brentwood-based HealthTrust Purchasing Group is one of seven industry players to receive letters from a group of senators concerned about whether the groups' business practices contribute to higher health-care costs at taxpayers' expense.
In letters sent last week, Sens. Chuck Grassley, Herb Kohl and Bill Nelson asked the purchasing groups for copies of sample contracts that outline any tiered discounts offered to buyers for reaching specific volume targets.
The senators also want to know about the contracting groups'
relationships with hospitals, manufacturers and other vendors, and about how they pay for additional services.
The congressional critics are concerned about possible reduced competition and increased costs for payers such as Medicare.
Grassley and Nelson are members of the Senate Finance Committee, whose duties include ensuring that taxpayers' dollars are spent efficiently on drugs and medical devices. Kohl is on the antitrust subcommittee, which aims to keep industries competitive and ensure that patients have access to the best medical devices at reasonable prices.
Curtis Rooney, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Health Industry Group Purchasing Association, said the industry plans to comply with the senators' request, adding that answers to many of their questions were already available on a Web site that the trade group created.
Nashville medical trade center hires adviser with Vanderbilt tiesWashington Report: Controversial Legislation
