CADE signs agreement with cooperatives of anesthesiologists

The Tribunal of the Administrative Council for Economic Defense – CADE signed on 10 December 2014 two judicial agreements and six Cease and Desist Agreements (TCC for its acronym in Portuguese) with cooperatives of anesthesiologists for imposing price tables for medical services.

In the judicial agreements, the cooperatives of anesthesiologists of the state of Goiás and of the state of Bahia agreed to collect pecuniary contribution equivalent to the fine imposed by CADE at the judgment of the cases, which totalize BRL 634,000.

The TCCs were signed between CADE and the cooperatives of anesthesiologists of the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso, Espírito Santo, Amazonas, Rio Grande do Norte, and Paraíba. The entities must collect around BRL 120,000 to the Diffused Rights Fund as pecuniary contribution.

According to the TCCs, the cooperatives also commit to refrain from practices that may impose prices or coordinated actions of its associates.

“The consensual solution enables the conjoint closure of several administrative and judicial proceedings related to the conduct. This ends the matter in a single and extensive way, with a satisfactory result from both the competition enforcement and the committed cooperatives’ points of view”, stated the Chief Prosecutor Victor Rufino.