This is an excerpt from a member-only article. To read the article in its entirety, please login or subscribe.

On January 4, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) gave its final approval to a consent decree negotiated with Memorial Hermann Health Network Providers (MHHNP)--a large independent practice association (IPA) with 3,000 participating providers in Texas. The crux of the FTC's complaint against MHHNP was its alleged abuse of the messenger model system of provider network contracting.