Supreme Court Ruling’s Implications for Healthcare Professions posted on: Wednesday, March 4, 2015 The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a state professional board controlled by active market participants must be supervised by a state to enjoy protection from federal antitrust laws.

On February 25, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion in North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners v. Federal Trade Commission, ruling that a state professional board controlled by active market participants must be actively supervised by a state to enjoy protection from federal antitrust scrutiny. The Court ruled that attempts by the North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners (the Board) to prevent nondentists from engaging in the practice of teeth whitening were unlawfully anticompetitive. The Board, which consisted of a statutorily mandated majority of practicing dentists elected by fellow dentists, was, according to the Court, a “nonsovereign actor controlled by active market participants.” Because the Board was not “actively supervised” by the State of North Carolina, the Court concluded that the State Action Doctrine did not immunize the Board from the antitrust challenge.
http://www.natlawreview.com/article/supreme-court-ruling-s-implications-healthcare-professionsmore