On July 23, 2004 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ)
released a joint report examining competition in the healthcare sector and recommending ways to improve performance of the marketplace. The 361-page report, "Improving Health Care: A Dose of Competition," stems from twenty-seven days of hearings on healthcare and competition
held from February through October 2003, an FTC-sponsored workshop in September 2002, and independent research. The report focuses on a number of key areas, including the importance of reliable information on prices and quality, eliminating barriers to competition, and relying on competition when possible.
