Visus writes: Reap what you sow

Two items of news caught my eye last week. First a consortium of private ophthalmologists known as Consultant Eye Surgeons partnership (CESP) were fined nearly half a million pounds for various breaches of competition law. This group of 37 LLP’s and 200 consultants colluded to encourage a refusal to accept lower fees offered by an insurer and ensure self-pay fees were higher. Members were circulated with detailed price lists for ophthalmic procedures in what amounted to a cartel.

It is interesting that one of the triggers for this was the unilateral reduction in fees by a well-known private medical insurer.  The insurers response to patient enquiries as to why their recommended consultant would not accept this insurer was to say that the consultant in question was not accredited (by implication impugning competence). I could see the point of the surgeons and found myself in agreement with this aspect. But group agreement over prices, surely its only the NHS that is allowed to do this with its tariff system?