On March 20, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the creation of a cross-bureau Healthcare Task Force to coordinate competition and consumer protection enforcement and advocacy across the healthcare sector.
This development and other Trump administration initiatives in the past year suggest that healthcare companies should expect government scrutiny to center around integrated analyses of market power, contracting, data practices and marketing conduct in individual sectors. This includes closer alignment between merger review and nonmerger conduct investigations in which the same parties or markets are implicated.
Companies operating in innovation-intensive areas should anticipate attention on how contracting models, platform strategies and data use affect entry, switching, and provider or patient choice.
Structure and Governance
The March 20 memorandum from FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson directs the Bureaus of Competition and Consumer Protection, the Bureau of Economics, and the Offices of Policy Planning and Technology to integrate strategy, accelerate new investigations, sharpen amicus and policy work, and expand interagency collaboration. The directive ties this approach to a broader Trump administration executive policy of advancing a more competitive, innovative, affordable and higher-quality healthcare system and reflects a focus on “kitchen table” issues affecting American families.
In the memorandum, Chairman Ferguson frames healthcare as a priority because of its scale and persistent affordability and access challenges, noting that healthcare accounts for a large share of U.S. GDP while many patients still struggle to obtain care at affordable prices. He attributes these issues to consolidation and anticompetitive conduct that can push up prices, reduce quality, limit transparency and cause acute harm to rural communities, seniors and veterans.
The memo links the Healthcare Task Force to the FTC’s dual mandate to prevent unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive practices. By emphasizing both sides of that authority, the Commission positions itself to address traditional antitrust risks in provider, payer, and supplier markets as well as deceptive marketing, data, and privacy harms.
The Healthcare Task Force will be co-chaired by designees from the Bureau of Competition and the Bureau of Consumer Protection, with at least three representatives from each bureau and one representative each from the Office of Policy Planning, the Office of Technology, and the Office of General Counsel. The full Healthcare Task Force will meet monthly and report to the Chairman on a quarterly basis.
The memo anticipates partnerships with other government agencies with complementary authorities and expertise. It expressly identifies the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) as initial federal partners, reflecting an intent to enhance the FTC’s enforcement and advocacy work with HHS and DOJ policy and prosecutorial expertise. This model is designed to ensure a coherent approach to the healthcare industry across key government agencies.
Work Plan and Methods
Priority tasks will include developing coherent, agencywide strategies for new and nascent investigations and proactive identification of amicus and statement-of-interest opportunities to influence key legal standards. The memo also directs the group to identify emerging risks and priorities for enforcement and advocacy through “horizon-scanning,” which may include increased attention to public information regarding non-reportable healthcare transactions, announcements of partnerships and company launches, private litigation, and other market intelligence. Operationally, the Healthcare Task Force’s pooling of investigative assets, economic expertise, market intelligence, and third-party sources across teams will likely reduce duplication and speed case development. The expected result is a unified portfolio that aligns nonmerger investigations, merger review, and deceptive practice matters under a single sector strategy, allowing the FTC to address conduct that can implicate both competition and consumer protection concerns.
FTC Highlights Recent Healthcare Matters
To illustrate the Healthcare Task Force’s breadth of objectives, Chairman Ferguson’s memo highlights FTC-driven outcomes in healthcare this past year across competition and consumer protection fronts.
Examples of competition developments he emphasizes include the following:
- The FTC’s recent success preventing certain mergers in the healthcare industry. For example, Chairman Ferguson claims that the proposed Alcon–Lensar transaction was halted because of FTC staff findings that head-to-head rivalry was driving price competition and innovation in femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery systems.
- The FTC’s renewed challenges to improper device patent listings in the FDA’s Orange Book, which the agency links to the removal of barriers to generic and biosimilar entry affecting epinephrine autoinjectors and therapies for asthma, diabetes, and COPD.
His memo also singles out consumer protection matters including:
- The Commission’s settlement with Evoke Wellness, which secured $2.4 million in monetary relief and a permanent ban on impersonation tactics after allegations that the company used search advertising and telemarketing to pose as other substance use disorder treatment providers.
- The FTC’s final consent order last December that imposed injunctive and monetary relief against telehealth provider NextMed based on allegations that the company employed deceptive pricing and weight-loss claims, fake testimonials, and review manipulation in connection with GLP‑1 weight-loss programs.
Other FTC Healthcare Actions Under Chairman Ferguson
In addition to the examples cited by the memo, the FTC has taken a series of other healthcare actions during Chairman Ferguson’s tenure that may serve as a preview of the Healthcare Task Force’s priorities.
Healthcare staffing and services markets have drawn the FTC’s attention in recent merger challenges. In December 2025, Aya Healthcare terminated its proposed acquisition of Cross Country Healthcare after an extended Second Request review and a public statement from the FTC identifying significant competitive concerns in managed services and staffing platforms used by hospitals. In January 2026, the FTC announced a proposed consent order requiring Sevita to divest 128 intermediate care facilities as a condition of acquiring BrightSpring’s community living business serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, with the goal of preserving quality and choice in affected markets.
The Commission’s new tactics on labor-market restraints have also directly implicated the healthcare industry. In early September 2025, the Commission ended its defense of the prior nationwide noncompete rule in court and moved to case-by-case enforcement. The same week, it launched a public request for information on employer noncompete agreements and, in 2026, held a workshop on the same topic.
The Commission also coordinated policy work aimed at drug affordability. In mid‑2025, in concert with DOJ, HHS and the Department of Commerce, the FTC hosted a series of listening sessions focused on promoting competition to lower prescription drug prices, including generic and biosimilar availability and the competitive effects of formulary and benefits design.
Practical Implications for Market Participants
The examples cited in the Healthcare Task Force memo and other recent actions suggest the FTC is committed to finding numerous ways to protect consumers, workers, and new companies in healthcare sectors through a variety of tools, including merger enforcement, litigation, settlements, and public information requests.
Increased interagency coordination with HHS and DOJ also suggests the Commission may have more resources at its disposal, including greater access to data, which may increase the likelihood of parallel inquiries. Finally, the Healthcare Task Force’s monthly operating rhythm and quarterly reporting indicate there may be a steadier pipeline of matters for the FTC to consider as targets for investigation, advocacy, and enforcement.
McGuireWoods has extensive experience in FTC investigations and enforcement actions. For questions about what effect the Healthcare Task Force may have on your business, contact the authors or a member of the Antitrust & Trade Regulation Practice Group.