It is about a balance of power in the marketplace . This bill levels the playing field and gives physicians the ability to engage in meaningful contract negotiations with very powerful, monopsonistic forces. The bill specifically prohibits strikes and boycotts or any other tactic that would result in denial of patient care. The TMA believes it is unethical for physicians to strike or otherwise use patients as a bargaining chip. This bill is anti-competitive and such negotiations should be left to the two equally matched, sophisticated parties.
Contracts are non-negotiable.
With this kind of market power, physicians have no ability to negotiate. When physician networks are able to fully integrate and evolve into an entity that can wield some power in the market, the health plan refuses to negotiate with the network and begins to break it apart into individual physicians who can again be bullied into accepting one-sided contracts. This bill does not allow physicians to discuss fees unless given specific permission by the Attorney General to do so. In order for fees to be part of negotiations, the plan must have substantial market power. The AG must also consider the number of physicians involved in fee negotiations relative to the total number of physicians available in the geographic area.